Red Bull says it is upto teams to decide how they invest in young drivers after promoting Alex Albon just 12 races into his Formula 1 career.
The Thai driver got the nod to replace Pierre Gasly who struggled to get upto speed following his rapid rise to the senior team after just 26 starts with Toro Rosso.
Red Bull has claimed evaluation was the main factor for choosing Albon, having already worked with Daniil Kvyat, and that despite his lack of experience, there is little risk in putting him in a potentially race-winning car so soon.
“I don’t think so,” team boss Christian Horner explained. “I think the way that the drivers are arriving in Formula 1 now, they are so much better prepared from lower formulas, from the simulators, the years they spend in karting.
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“You can see from how quickly Max [Verstappen] got into Formula 1 and everybody said it was too soon, it was too early, blah blah blah, and he delivered.
“I think that’s very much the world we live in today. I think the drivers do arrive better prepared and it’s really dependent on the risk appetite that a team has whether it’s prepared to invest in youth.”
“For us, investing in youth over the years, we would never have found [Sebastian] Vettel, we would never have found Verstappen, we would never have had [Daniel] Ricciardo,” he said.
“Arguably Carlos Sainz wouldn’t have had his opportunity if we hadn’t invested in that youth. The same with Alex and Kvyat and obviously Gasly as well.
“If we hadn’t have taken that risk on youngsters previously, they would never have come through, they would never have delivered for us,” he added.
“I think [Charles] Leclerc’s doing a pretty decent job at Ferrari. Albon’s done a decent job or Toro Rosso, they’re higher in the Constructors than they’ve been for over 10 years.
“It’s very easy to be conservative. You have to be a bit braver and a bit more ambitious sometimes to take the risk and then take the risk with a youngster.”
The biggest challenge Albon faces is going up against Verstappen, who is establishing himself on a level on really matched consistently by five-time champion Lewis Hamilton.
“Alex is mentally strong enough to compete against Max, and the outcome and future will show,” Toro Rosso chief Franz Tost claimed.
“Max has a very, very high natural speed, as well as Alex. From the rest, from the technical side, they are quite similar.
“Both of them have a good understanding of how to set up the car, and both of them have a good understanding how to use the tyres in the best possible way, how to manage them.
“But of course Max is much more experienced, and this for sure will help him.”
