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Bleekemolen says Alex Albon should be Max Verstappen’s Red Bull teammate again

Originally posted on HITC | By Ben Evans | Last updated Aug 14, 2025 9:14 AM ET

New Red Bull Racing team boss Laurent Mekies has quickly become aware of one of the team’s biggest challenges.

Max Verstappen managed to keep Red Bull on top over the past two seasons, even picking up a fourth drivers’ championship along the way.

But Verstappen wasn’t able to pull away from Lando Norris in the standings for much of the year, and things looked even worse when you looked at what was happening on the other side of the garage.

Sergio Perez started strong with three podiums in the first five races, but their didn’t return to the top three again for the rest of the season, outside of Sprint Races.

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Perez was replaced by Liam Lawson at season’s end, though Lawson only lasted two Grands Prix before Yuki Tsunoda took over.

Tsunoda has struggled since joining Red Bull and heads into the summer break sitting down in 18th place in the championship.

Jeroen Bleekemolen backs Alex Albon as the right fit for Max Verstappen’s Red Bull partner

Bleekemolen was a guest on the Paddockpraat Podcast and was asked about how Williams’ season is currently going.

Carlos Sainz has had a tough time since his move from Ferrari, but Alex Albon, who is on a £6.5m-a-year contract, currently sits eighth in the standings with 54 points.

Bleekemolen explained: “Carlos Sainz he has shown a few things, but he’s also having a very hard time there.

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“And that always surprises me, because then you have to get used to the car, and this and that. “I didn’t expect that. And Albon is actually doing quite well!

“He’s been very good and shown some really nice moments. Do you see him enjoying himself when he has a good qualifying session or a good race?

“Then you see him, and he had, I think it was in Austria, a really good race, but then he was a bit disappointed and thought there was a bit more in it.

“He also has a lot of self-reflection, thinking: ‘Wait a minute, this looks good on paper, but I made that little mistake there, and a little mistake there.’

“I think he’s doing really well. Maybe he should actually be the one next to Max again — but of course we’ve already seen him there.”

This article first appeared on HITC and was syndicated with permission.

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