Albon pushed back to the sidelines, will we see him back on the grid?

Alexander Albon has temporarily lost his seat at Red Bull Racing due to the arrival of Sergio Perez. The British-Thai driver didn't produce the desired results with the top team in a season and a half. He will be a test and reserve driver from 2021. What does the future look like for Albon now?

Albon ended up in Formula 1 in 2019 with some luck, because he was actually going to race in Formula E. After half a season at Toro Rosso, Albon had to replace the disappointing Pierre Gasly at Red Bull. At the end of 2019, Albon seemed to be doing just fine and many people expected even more improvement.

Bad luck for Albon

A year later, however, Albon is in the same boat as Gasly, although Albon is slightly more unlucky. Where Gasly got the chance again with Toro Rosso [now AlphaTauri], that chance is not there for Albon. AlphaTauri has signed Gasly and rookie Yuki Tsunoda for 2021.

Albon is pushed back to the sidelines. Test and reserve driver will be his role in the new year. The Thai will do a lot of simulator work for Red Bull, while Max Verstappen and Perez have to score the points.

Are there any chances of an Albon return?

Albon showed glimpses of improvement from the start of the season at the end of 2020. The 24-year-old driver was particularly strong in Abu Dhabi. He qualified three-tenths behind Verstappen and finished fourth in the Grand Prix.

The chance of a return to Albon's grid in 2022 also depends a lot on Perez's performance. If Perez is a strong teammate for Verstappen at Red Bull, they will not easily push the Mexican aside and give Albon a second chance. It is now up to Albon to do his simulator and test work well and keep his eyes peeled for a seat outside the Red Bull family. Although the chance that another team will hire him as a driver does not seem great.

This article was written and originally published by Bonne on the Dutch edition of GPblog.com.