Red Bull told to snub Daniel Ricciardo for obvious Sergio Perez replacement
Red Bull have been urged to give Alex Albon a second chance to shine with the team.
British-Thai driver Albon was part of the Red Bull junior programme and was elevated to the top team just 12 races into his Formula 1 career. He spent 18 months alongside Max Verstappen but was replaced by Sergio Perez ahead of the 2021 campaign.
After a year out, he joined Williams in 2022 and has shone since. He was particularly impressive last year as he almost single-handedly fired his team to a seventh-placed finish in the constructors' championship.
As a result, he is on the radar of the top teams again. It is understood Ferrari have been watching Albon's performances with interest, though there are no signs yet that Red Bull might be tempted to bring him back into the fold.
Eddie Jordan thinks they should do exactly that. The former team owner has, like many others, been very impressed with what he has seen from Albon and believes the 27-year-old is deserving of a second chance alongside Verstappen.
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"I have a real soft spot for Albon," the Irishman said on his Formula For Success podcast. "I just think that given the right situations I think he could really, really be mustard. I would like to see at some stage that he be given the chance alongside Max, because I think he might be a big surprise."
Albon himself feels he was thrust into a Red Bull seat too early in his F1 career. But, given the chance to try again with the skills and experience he has gained, the 27-year-old fancies his chances of being much more effective in that position.
"Other drivers who went through difficult phases in their careers, like Daniel [Ricciardo] at McLaren, had a hard time feeling comfortable in the car," he told Motorsport Total. " So we tried to make me feel comfortable in the Red Bull. That somehow never really worked out. With the knowledge I have today, I could have done it. But in hindsight, it's easy to say.
"The bottom line is that I feel that going through these difficult months and race weekends has made me even better and more focused in this area, I have a better understanding of what feedback I need to provide. I have stronger self-confidence today. I know better what the car has to be like in order to perform better.
"When I sit in these meetings, not only with the engineers on the track but also with the aerodynamicists and technicians in the factory, with the people who are developing the car for next year, then today I know much better what I'm talking about. I understand the car and its strengths and weaknesses better. Then, you have the courage to say more.
"At Red Bull, I still had to learn, so I wasn't able to provide much feedback on where I wanted the car to go because I first had to learn to understand what the car actually does and why."
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