Horner brands Toro Rosso drive for Albon as "speculation"

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner says that the rumours surrounding Alexander Albon are purely speculative, adding that the Anglo-Thai driver's recent non-committal to Formula E is not a sign he will be in a Toro Rosso in 2019.

Recent rumours have suggested that it will be Albon who will be replacing Brendon Hartley at the Toro Rosso team next season, however Horner has denied that any deal is in place yet and revealing the candidate that could handle the pressure best would be the option taken.

“There’s nothing fixed. Nothing other than speculation at the moment,” Horner told Sky Sports F1. “He is a driver that has been on the Red Bull programme previously, he’s a talented driver.

“That’s what we’re all about. It’s not about nationalities but about the ability to deliver under pressure at this level so nothing really that I can add to that at the moment.”

Albon had been set to drive in Formula E for the 2018/19 season with Nissan e.dams, however a late pullout by the 22-year-old has fuelled the fire that he could be making the move to Formula One instead.

Nissan e.dams boss Jean-Paul Droit said that he was surprised by the decision but that he wouldn't stand in the way of Albon's career.

“It came out of the blue the week before. Alex called me and then Helmut Marko called me from Japan and I knew that as the process was starting we had to go ahead and find a solution,” Droit told FormulaSpy.

“He had a three-year contract with Nissan e.dams, we planned a lot of things to do. It’s rather complicated and I think the Nissan people have been quite reasonable.

“When you have a 22-year-old driver who has an opportunity to go to F1 we all know what it is for them, it’s their life.  We know we could battle with the contract, because we have a contract, it’s quite clear. But you cannot compromise the career of a young guy."