Marko proposes a second Red Bull seat between Albon and Gasly

The paddock in Singapore was full of driver news all weekend, and on Saturday Red Bull Motorsport Advisor Helmut Marko gave an update on where the Milton Keynes team stands when deciding on their second driver for 2020. And according to the Austrian, it is a direct battle between the current incumbent Alex Albon and the man he replaced in Belgium, Pierre Gasly, for the seat next to Max Verstappen …

Speaking to Sky Sports F1 before qualifying, Marko seemed to indicate that it had already been agreed that Daniil Kvyat, who drove for Red Bull in 2015 and the first four races of 2016, would stay with Toro Rosso.

“Kvyat is already confirmed for next year, at least internally it is clear,” he said. “Then it’s between Gasly and Albon [for the second Red Bull seat]. “

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Somewhat contradictingly, Red Bull team boss Christian Horner later said that Albon, Gasly and Kvyat were still fighting over partner Verstappen, but Albon was in the box seat.

“He has to push Max, he has to deliver,” said Horner when asked what the British-born Thai driver had to do to make the seat his seat. “He has to build on what he’s doing right now. We’re only in the third race, but he’s doing a good job.

“He takes everything easy. I was really impressed with how calm he is, how much he uses the engineers when looking at the data. And it is now helping the car to drive faster.

“[The seat] he is to be lost in many ways. All three [Albon, Kvyat and Gasly] are being considered for next year. We don’t have to rush decisions – all drivers are RBR drivers and will make the decision for the future at the right time. “

When will that be? “We will do our assessment in Mexico,” said Marko. Until then, it’s up to the drivers to do their best to impress.