Albon earns Red Bull promotion

FIA Formula 2 graduate Alex Albon has been promoted from Scuderia Toro Rosso to sister team Red Bull Racing, for the remainder of the 2019 season.

Albon - who finished 3rd in last season’s F2 Championship - will race alongside Max Verstappen as the team asses their driver line-up for the 2020 campaign. The move comes following an electric start to 2019, where Albon has so far scored 16 points from 12 Grands Prix, with a best result of 6th, in Germany.

Verstappen’s former teammate, Pierre Gasly – who previously raced in the now defunct GP2 series - will return to Toro Rosso.

Red Bull said via an official statement on their website: “Red Bull are in the unique position of having four talented Formula One drivers under contract who can be rotated between the Team and Toro Rosso. The Team will use the next nine races to evaluate Alex’s performance in order to make an informed decision as to who will drive alongside Max in 2020.

“Everyone at the Team looks forward to welcoming Alex and supporting him during the next phase of his F1 career.”