|
The 23-year-old made his debut with Red
Bull-owned Toro Rosso this season but replaced under-performing
French driver Pierre Gasly at the energy drink brand's senior
team from the Belgian Grand Prix in August.
"Alex has performed extremely well since his debut with the team
in Belgium and his results -- seven finishes in the top-six --
speak for themselves," said team principal Christian Horner in a
statement.
"It’s extremely hard to deny that level of consistency and in
tandem with a growing reputation as a tenacious, fiercely
committed racer, Alex has proved that he fully deserves to
continue his progress with Aston Martin Red Bull Racing."
Italy-based Toro Rosso confirmed separately that Gasly and
Russian Daniil Kvyat, another former Red Bull driver, would
continue as their lineup next season.
Tuesday's announcements left only struggling former champions
Williams with a seat to be filled, although that is expected to
go to 24-year-old Canadian Formula Two driver and team reserve
Nicholas Latifi.
Albon was tipped by Toro Rosso boss Franz Tost before the season
started as the year's likely surprise package and he has
cemented his reputation with strong performances alongside
Verstappen, winner of two races in 2019.
The Thai has finished all his seven races for Red Bull in the
top six, scoring 68 points in addition to the 16 he took with
Toro Rosso in the first half of the year.
He is now sixth in the overall standings.
Last season, however, Albon was racing in Formula Two and
seemingly destined for a future with Nissan in the all-electric
Formula E series before Red Bull stepped in.
"I am really excited to be partnering Max again for next year
and I know how fortunate I am to be given this opportunity," he
said.
"I'm hugely thankful that Red Bull have put their trust in me
and believed in my results since I joined the Team and for them
to keep me in the car next year is a big deal.
"This year has been an incredible year for me and getting the
call up to Red Bull mid-season was already a big step, so now I
will use the learnings from this season and use the experience
to improve and fight at the front in 2020."
(Reporting by Alan Baldwin, editing by Christian Radnedge)
[© 2019 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2019 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.
 |
|
