Christian Horner says Alex Albon has "earned the 2020 Red Bull seat on merit"

Red Bull Racing have made the decision to keep Alex Albon on for next season. The British-Thai racer is in his first Formula 1 season and was promoted from Toro Rosso to replace Pierre Gasly halfway through the season. Christian Horner has praised Albon for what he has done at Red Bull so far. 

"Obviously Alex has done a very good job in his first year in Formula 1," Horner said at a press conference in Brazil. "He started the year at Toro Rosso and we then took the opportunity at the summer break to promote him into the senior team.

"The reason behind that was to have a look at him within our own environment. And since stepping into that seat he’s finished in the top six at every Grand Prix, sometimes having to start from the back of the grid or even the pit lane.

"He’s driven exceptionally well. He’s given great feedback; his pace is improving and improving, at many circuits at which he’s never been to before or countries he’s never been in, like here in Brazil this weekend. He’s earned the seat on merit.

"We’re excited about his potential for the future. It was a relatively straightforward decision to come to, to extend his relationship with the team as the partner for Max in 2020." 

Albon has performed consistently well but will want to start pushing Max Verstappen harder next season so that he can cement his seat at the top team for years to come.