PEREZ REPLACES ALBON AT RED BULL FOR 2021
12 mins ago
By Scott Mitchell
Red Bull has signed Sergio Perez to its Formula 1 driver line-up for 2021, with Alex Albon demoted to reserve driver.
Albon has had a disappointing first full season at Red Bull Racing alongside team-mate Max Verstappen.
Verstappen was able to split or fight the Mercedes drivers at times, winning the 70th Anniversary and Abu Dhabi Grands Prix, even with the team’s tricky RB16.
But as the car has improved and Verstappen’s Mercedes-fighting exploits were bolstered, Albon failed to progress – ending the year seventh in the standings with a pair of podium finishes to his name.
Albon’s new reserve role will include a focus on development duties for Formula 1’s 2022 tech rules revamp, with Perez replacing him on a one-year deal.
“Alex is a valued member of the team and we thought long and hard about this decision,” said team principal Christian Horner.
“Having taken our time to evaluate all the relevant data and performances we have decided that Sergio is the right driver to partner Max for 2021 and look forward to welcoming him to Red Bull Racing.
“Alex remains an important part of our team as test and reserve driver with a key focus on 2022 development and we would like to thank him for his hard work and contribution.”
As Albon’s season failed to build momentum, Perez’s went from strength to strength.
The 30-year-old finished fourth in the championship in his best season in F1, which included a breakthrough victory in the Sakhir Grand Prix.
Perez’s stellar form came despite being informed by Racing Point it would activate a get-out clause in his contract for 2021 so the team could sign Sebastian Vettel instead.
With Perez suddenly on the market and out-of-contract Nico Hulkenberg impressing in stand-in appearances for Racing Point when Perez and Lance Stroll had COVID-19, Red Bull had two unexpected, experienced options outside its driver pool to consider.
The prospect of the team hiring an outside driver for the first time since Mark Webber only grew more likely as the season progressed.
Though Albon scored his first F1 podium with a feisty drive at Mugello, where he had to recover from various setbacks, he failed to match Red Bull’s expectation he would build on that result.
Instead, he scored just one point in the four races that followed, including a three-race pointless run after compromising his Eifel Grand Prix with an early error than a needless clash with Daniil Kvyat, failing to recover from a terrible start in Portugal and spinning late in the Emilia Romagna GP at Imola.
Albon briefly moved into victory contention in F1’s chaotic Turkish Grand Prix before spinning, then inherited a second podium finish in Bahrain after a race where he ran up to 40 seconds adrift of Verstappen and was stuck behind Perez until the Racing Point driver had an engine failure.
A miserable second race followed in Bahrain as Albon was knocked out in Q2 and only finished sixth in a grand prix Verstappen and both Mercedes drivers were eliminated from victory contention in, and Perez recovered from being spun to the back on lap one to win.
Albon felt he had made a final-round breakthrough when he posted his closest qualifying performance to Verstappen of the season in Abu Dhabi, even though Lando Norris’s surprisingly fast McLaren beat Albon to fourth on the grid.
In the race, Albon drifted away from the lead fight but while he only finished fourth while Verstappen won, he was at least able to pressure Mercedes to the finish and play a part in the outcome by stopping Verstappen’s rivals splitting their strategies or being able to take a breather.
However, it was not enough to convince Red Bull to keep him on, while Perez beat out Hulkenberg to be first in line to partner Verstappen in Albon’s place.
SOURCE:
https://the-race.com/formula-1/perez-replaces-albon-at-red-bull-for-2021/
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BUTTON’S McLAREN TEAM ENTERS 2021 DTM
2 hours ago
By Valentin Khorounzhiy
Formula 1 2009 world champion Jenson Button’s racing outfit Jenson Team Rocket RJN will take part in the new-look Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters series next year.
The team Button co-owns will enter at least one McLaren 750s GT3 in the DTM, which has been forced to switch to regular GT3 rules after manufacturer exits brought the curtains down on its Class One era.
“I’ve always loved DTM and it’s exciting to see the series evolve into this new chapter with GT3,” Button said.
“I’ve known Gerhard [Berger, series boss] for a long time and I’m sure he will ensure they put on a great show!
“We are all working behind the scenes to make this DTM plan come together and I’m pleased to be able to expand our plans with McLaren.”
Jenson Team Rocket RJN was due to compete in the GT World Challenge Europe international series (having already raced there in the previous year with Honda), but ended up switching to British GT after the COVID-19 interruption to the racing calendar.
It fielded World’s Fastest Gamer winner James Baldwin in a full-time entry he shared with Michael O’Brien, as the pair scored a win and fourth place overall in the standings.
Button himself made a debut British GT appearance with his team in the season finale.
The 15-time F1 race winner largely pivoted to GT racing after the end of his grand prix career, winning the Super GT title in 2018 and even making a DTM appearance a year later in a Super GT/DTM joint race.
The new-look GT3-spec DTM was already going to have McLarens on the grid courtesy of the Bahrain-representing 2 Seas Motorsport, while GruppeM and long-serving DTM squad Abt Sportsline have also announced plans to participate in 2021, with Mercedes and Audi machinery respectively.
SOURCE:
https://the-race.com/gt/buttons-mclaren-team-enters-2021-dtm/
