SEPTEMBER 28, 2019

2020 teammate up to Red Bull says Verstappen

Max Verstappen says he doesn't mind who Red Bull chooses to be his 2020 teammate.

Max Verstappen says he doesn't mind who Red Bull chooses to be his 2020 teammate.

Currently, the energy drink outfit is giving Alex Albon a chance at the senior team, but Dr Helmut Marko says Pierre Gasly is also in the running to return from Toro Rosso in 2020.

"They are the bosses, so they decide," Verstappen said at Sochi. "It's up to them.

"I don't care who my teammate is. Albon is good, I like to work with him and he's very relaxed. But that's not different to Pierre either," he added.

"Pierre is a really nice guy too and he did a good job in Singapore, so he'll be feeling better now.

"Alex and I drive the car pretty much alike. That is important for the team," said the Dutchman.

However, at Sochi, Albon is badly off Verstappen's pace.

"So far I don't have much confidence in the car here," the rookie admitted.

Former Red Bull driver Robert Doornbos told Ziggo Sport: "If it stays like this for Albon, the pressure will really be on him."

Frenchman Gasly, on the other hand, is pushing hard to get another chance at Red Bull racing.

"I'm not someone to give up easily," he told the Russian publication Championat at Sochi.

"I don't think I got a real chance to prove myself in the first six months," Gasly added. "There is a feeling of having unfinished business."

Meanwhile, 1997 world champion Jacques Villeneuve thinks Daniil Kvyat will not get another chance to return to Red Bull.

"Red Bull wants Albon to be fast, because he is from Thailand, like Red Bull is," he said.

"Kvyat should be happy to stay at Toro Rosso, because he could be at home watching on the couch and instead he is in Formula 1 and getting paid for it.

"I think this year he is driving quite well."

(GMM)