Red Bull have bad news for Gasly; Perez and Hulkenberg are the alternatives

Red Bull Racing have three men in mind who could join Max Verstappen in the RB17 next year; Nico Hulkenberg, Sergio Perez or Alexander Albon. Pierre Gasly no longer seems to have a chance of getting into the Red Bull car next year.

"We want Alex to claim that seat and basically justify that there is no need to look at any other alternative than Alex," Horner was quoted by Racefans.net on Saturday. The team boss of Red Bull Racing announces that the young British Thai still has two Grand Prix weekends left to convince his racing team.

Horner hopes for Albon improvement

At Red Bull, Albon is still the first choice for 2021, but the Milton Keynes-based formation does indicate (unlike a few weeks ago) that Albon really needs to improve now. "I think everybody in the team wants to see him do that."

Gasly seems to be able to put a new promotion out of his head in any case. "I think AlphaTauri are pretty settled with their drivers. So as I say, our preference is very much Alex, but if we had to look at a different solution, then obviously we would have to look outside of the Red Bull pool of drivers, simply because there’s not one available that we would look to look to put in."

Opportunities for Hulkenberg and Perez 

Attention then seems to shift to the frequently mentioned Hulkenberg or Perez. Both drivers will be without a team next season. “And there’s some quality drivers, obviously, on the market that could be unemployed for next year," Horner concludes.