Red Bull reportedly tried to bring Alex Albon back this winter

Few people are given a second chance by Red Bull after having wrung them dry, worn them out and demoralised them. Pierre Gasly dreamed about it for three and a half years between his demotion at Toro Rosso in 2019 and his departure for Alpine in 2023, the date of his emancipation from the Red Bull fold, but the Frenchman never had the opportunity to receive a new call from Milton Keynes.

Successor to the Norman in the diabolical second Austrian seat, Alex Albon held his place during the second half of the 2019 season in order to obtain an extension for a full season in 2020. The London native appeared less comfortable there and the gap with Max Verstappen has relentlessly dug himself out, sounding the death knell for his time at Red Bull at the end of the year. Without a seat for 2021, the Thai's career in F1 seemed to be already set to stop, until Williams decides to make him the replacement for his friend George Russell, promoted to Mercedes.

By stringing together brilliant performances in the midfield over the past three seasons, Alexander Albon has rebuilt his popularity, making him a sought-after driver. His boss James Vowles is charmed and continues to proclaim that Williams has "the best driver duo on the grid" since the arrival of Carlos Sainz. But the former Mercedes strategy boss could have seen his dream shattered at the end of last season: according to information reported by journalist Lawrence Barretto on the official website of the F1, Red Bull reportedly attempted an offensive to recapture Alexander Albon at the end of last season, which failed.

Red Bull's failed attempt with Albon

The Austrians, clearly short of sufficiently reassuring options, would have sought to recruit outside their own fold as was the case with Sergio Pérez in 2021. If the information from our colleague proves to be correct, it testifies to the lack of confidence that Red Bull has in Liam Lawson and Yuki tsunoda : if the first one did indeed get the job, he didn't really have the CV of the ideal candidate with only eleven Grand Prix under his belt and still a lot to learn.

As for the Japanese, he found himself overtaken by his young teammate, despite 87 F1 starts in four seasons with the Faenza team. Tsunoda had beaten his last three teammates (De Vries, Ricciardo, Lawson), he was not at the top of Red Bull's shortlist, which Helmut Marko justified by his nervousness behind the wheel, to which he preferred the calm of Liam Lawson. The New Zealander would probably never have had to suffer the snub of such an early replacement, if Alex Albon had agreed to return to his ex. Tsunoda and Lawson would then have bickered during another season together and Isack Hadjar would then probably have had to wait at least a year on the sidelines.

Ultimately, the Parisian is a happy man, James Vowles too and Alex Albon certainly too in view of the performance of his car at the start of the year. On the other hand, at Red Bull, Yuki Tsunoda now looks like the last option to try to find a reliable number two in the short term... What about the second RB21 in the event of failure of the Japanese driver, who will begin his career with the Red Bull at home, at Suzuka.

ALSO READ > Tsunoda replaces Lawson: A decision that Verstappen doesn't really like?