Albon to Red Bull: His best moments in F1 so far

Then there’s the constructors’ championship to consider. Red Bull are just 44 points shy of Ferrari in the battle for second. And that’s with just one of their drivers operating at such a high level. Just think what they could have done had they managed to persuade Daniel Ricciardo to stay for another year. Red Bull will fancy their chances of at least second this year, so swapping Gasly out and giving Alexander Albon a shot is a risk they reckon is worth taking. If Verstappen and championship leader Lewis Hamilton have been the two standout drivers of the campaign so far, Carlos Sainz – part of the Red Bull junior programme until the end of last year – has been good enough to join them in the top three. After three tough opening races with McLaren, Sainz hasn’t put a foot wrong. Eight points finishes out of nine have followed and he is deservedly in the best-of-the-rest slot, seventh in the drivers’ standings, 27 points clear of the field and just five behind Gasly. While Red Bull are unlikely to admit they made an error letting Sainz go, it won’t be lost on them that his form in a midfield car has been so good, he finished ahead of their man Gasly last time out in Hungary and is on the verge of passing him in the drivers’ standings. Those factors combined with Albon’s brilliant debut at Toro Rosso have made a case good enough for Red Bull to blink now. Had Verstappen or Sainz not been so impressive, or Ferrari been closer to Mercedes and therefore out of reach of Red Bull, Gasly would more than likely have had more time to get comfortable with the team and a car that he was struggling to set-up in a way that gives him confidence. You could say that he got longer than most, courtesy of the lack of Red Bull juniors chomping at his heels. It’s nonetheless a shame not to see him get longer to prove he has the speed but this does open the door for a youngster who wasn’t really a contender for F1.

CHINESE GP: Alex Albon's epic drive from the pits to the points