Right from 2018, Red Bull have been title contenders for the World Championships, but have at many times fallen behind eating the dust off Mercedes and Ferrari. On many given occasions, Red Bull could have made to the podium, especially with young talent Max Verstappen doing pretty well, but have to start focusing on themselves rather than keeping a tab on their rivals. Red Bull had retained Verstappen and Alexander Albon for the 2020 season. However, Sergio Perez has now replaced Albon and will be donning the Red Bull franchise for the 2021 season alongside Verstappen.
Verstappen won two Grand Prix – 70th Anniversary GP and the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, whereas Albon struggled to keep up with the youngster who finished on the podium 11 times and won twice. Albon scored only two podium finishes in 2020 but the British-Thai racer played a crucial role in ending the season on a high by keeping pressure on the Mercedes team and finishing fourth in order to help Verstappen clinch the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Red Bull last won the Abu Dhabi GP back in 2013 and on the circuit, there was no stopping Verstappen.
We take a look at the Red Bull 2020 season:
Max Verstappen
Young, talented and an eye always on the prize, Verstappen has a long way ahead and has glimpses of becoming one of the best Formula 1 racers. The Dutch-Belgian racer won two Grand Prix in 2020, the 70th Anniversary Grand Prix and the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Other than the wins, Verstappen has finished in second position six times and third position three times in the 2020 season. Verstappen was on the podium 11 times which only goes to show that Verstappen is capable of challenging for the title and can keep up with Mercedes Lewis Hamilton and now Aston Martin racer, Sebastian Vettel.
In the 17 races hosted by F1 in 2020, Verstappen scored 214 points and had finished third in the World Championships. What makes the year even better for Verstappenis that he was only 9 points behind Mercedes’ Bottas. The biggest achievement for Verstappen was winning the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix and keeping Mercedes behind as the youngster dominated the tracks. 2021 looks bright for Verstappen as Red Bull will have Sergio Perez to accompany the youngster in the upcoming season which can see Red Bull challenge for the World Championships.
Alexander Albon
Since Daniel Ricciardo’s departure from Red Bull, there hasn’t been any consistent racer who can match Verstappen in Formula 1 at the moment and Alexander Albon had struggled most of the season, which now sees him being replaced by Sergio Perez. Albon couldn’t find the stability which could have changed the outcome on many occasions in the 2020 Formula 1. It was only on two occasions in the 2020 F1 that Albon finished third on the podium, which was the Bahrain GP and Tuscan GP. Both GPs were won by Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton.
In what can be seen as a forgetful year for Albon, he will now be kept in the reserves and can be called upon anytime in the upcoming 2021 season.