Sergio Perez reveals the savage dig Christian Horner took at Alex Albon before he signed for Red Bull

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Alex Albon lost his Red Bull seat to Sergio Perez at the end of the 2020 season. He was given a year and a half, but he never fully convinced.

Halfway through 2019, Red Bull demoted Pierre Gasly, who had only scored around a third of Max Verstappen’s points, back to Toro Rosso. Albon was the beneficiary.

The Thai driver put 76 points on the board over the final nine rounds, a limited contribution but nonetheless an improvement on what had come before. Unfortunately, the team didn’t see the desired progress in his first full season.

Albon picked up two podiums – his only top-three finishes to date – but Verstappen scored 11, including a couple of victories. While the Dutchman was the nearest challenger to the dominant Mercedes team, his teammate finished behind Perez in the Racing Point, Renault’s Daniel Ricciardo and McLaren’s Carlos Sainz.

With free agent Perez snapped up as his replacement, Albon remained within the Red Bull set-up the following year as reserve driver. Williams then gave him a second chance, and now he’s regarded as one of the strongest drivers in the midfield.

Christian Horner told Sergio Perez that Red Bull would happily bench Alex Albon

Speaking on the Desde el Paddock podcast, Perez recalled his negotiations with Christian Horner in 2020, when Albon still occupied the seat. The Mexican was considering options because Racing Point investor Lawrence Stroll had signed Sebastian Vettel for the 2021 Aston Martin rebrand.

Horner remarkably admitted that Red Bull would prefer to run just one car if permitted under the regulations. Perez was surprised to hear this because he regarded Albon as a ‘great driver’.

It ultimately underscored Verstappen’s heliocentric position within the team. After agreeing a deal, Perez kept the seat for four seasons and was regarded as a solid understudy until his form completely unravelled in 2024.

“When I met up with Christian for the first time in person, he said, ‘Look, we’re a team that runs two cars because we have to run two cars, we could easily race with just Max’,” Perez said.

“That was when Alex was there. I knew that Alex was a great driver.

“I said to him, ‘Well now we can race with two cars [if you] hire me’, and he laughed. From that moment, I understood a lot about how the team worked.”

Why Alex Albon thinks he could thrive at Red Bull if he returned

Albon is arguably enjoying his finest season yet in 2025. He’s outscored multiple Grand Prix winner Sainz 42-13, and sits eighth in the championship.

Ironically, Red Bull expressed interest in Albon last year when they were assessing potential Perez replacements. However, his camp ‘swerved’ their approach.

On that basis, it was surprising to hear Albon claim he could ‘get around’ Red Bull’s handling problems in a recent interview. He wasn’t keen on a return when the possibility was floated.

While Verstappen’s incumbent teammate Yuki Tsunoda is expected to be replaced, Albon signed an extension at Williams last year. He may see the team as a better long-term bet as they target a return to the top step of the podium under the new regulations.