Alphatauri “Easier to Drive”- Red Bull F1 Claim Albon Can Match Gasly if Swapped

Another race weekend, and yet another disappointment for Alex Albon. The Red Bull driver is just not able to cut it in the RB16 bringing forth a measly P12 at the Portuguese Grand Prix.

By contrast, his predecessor, Pierre Gasly, brought his car home in a mightily impressive P5. He was majestic throughout the race and fended off the likes of Sergio Perez and Carlos Sainz to secure the position.

But Red Bull’s Team Principal Christian Horner believes that Albon would have replicated a similar performance with the AlphaTauri car. And that their sister team’s car was relatively easier to drive, even when Albon was with the team last year.

Horner thinks the AlphaTauri car is easier to drive

The characteristics of the Red Bull car are obviously different. And according to Horner, he believes that Pierre Gasly would have been in the same situation as Alex Albon.

Speaking to Sky F1, he was quoted as saying, “That AlphaTauri car is an easier car to drive you know, it was an easier car last year. When Alex stepped out, that was one of the first comments he made.

“But I’ve got no reason to think that if the tables were turned, it would probably be the same situation. I think Alex in that car would probably perform equal to that as Pierre is at the moment.”

Perhaps there might be a reason dictating Horner’s analysis here. Pierre Gasly during his time at Red Bull in 2019 did not enjoy a memorable stint with the team. In fact, the Frenchman massively struggled to tame the wild RB16.

Alex Albon is fighting for his future at Red Bull

The pressure only intensifies on Albon as the racing action charts a course to Imola on November 1st. It has been a tough season for Red Bull. Most of the heavy lifting has been done by Max Verstappen, a responsibility he has gotten all to familiar with.

Starting in P6, the objective would have been to maintain the position or improve significantly on that. But, at a tricky circuit like Portimao coupled with a poor race start, Albon got caught way behind in traffic.

Although Pierre Gasly may not reclaim his seat at Red Bull anytime soon, there are many other suitors ready to usurp Albon. The clock doth tick, and the showing at the Portuguese GP did nothing to help Albon’s case.