For this list of top 10 F1 drivers, we’ve taken into account the amount of success the racers scored with Red Bull and its sister team Toro Rosso/AlphaTauri, the impact they had and the circumstances of their time within the Red Bull fold. It doesn’t count their achievements at other teams.
Both Sebastien Buemi and Jaime Alguersuari, who had stints at Toro Rosso and were on the program longer than Albon, had a chance to be in this position; Buemi went on to enjoy significant success in both Formula E and the World Endurance Championship.
Although Albon was on the verge of a FE program when Daniel Ricciardo’s departure from Red Bull caused a shuffle that placed Pierre Gasly alongside Max Verstappen and Albon into Toro Rosso, as team-mate to Daniil Kvyat, Albon surprised everyone by making it into the lead Red Bull squad and scored podiums once there.
The Anglo-Thai demonstrated his ability to recover from setbacks and displayed moments of brilliance, such as his drive to sixth place in the German Grand Prix, his first time operating an F1 car in the rain. With Gasly having a difficult time, Albon was called up to the Red Bull team for the Belgian Grand Prix in September, marking just his 13th F1 start. Albon did not become bogged down in the midfield like Gasly did, but he performed well enough to retain the lead for 2020.
Sadly, he didn’t do well enough in his second Formula One season. Albon was once again too far away from Verstappen and rarely near enough to provide Red Bull with tactical alternatives, even though there were two podiums. Although Red Bull put him in the DTM before Albon’s F1 comeback with Williams in 2022, he was released at the end of 2020.
Has anyone had quite as many Red Bull opportunities as Daniil Kvyat? Helped by his 89 starts for Toro Rosso/AlphaTauri, the Russian is the third-highest points scorer for the ‘B’ team, behind Gasly and Carlos Sainz Jr. 2014 saw Kvyat advance to Formula One after winning the GP3 championship. Alongside the seasoned Jean-Eric Vergne (who defeated Kvyat 22–8), he performed well enough to inherit the Red Bull seat left empty by Ferrari-bound Sebastian Vettel for the 2015 season.
In the turbulent Hungarian Grand Prix, Kvyat finished in second place with three more points than his unlucky teammate Ricciardo, but the Australian continued to lead Red Bull’s push.
In the third round of the 2016 season, Kvyat finished third again, but Verstappen’s quick ascent put him in danger. Round five saw the Dutchman take his spot, something Kvyat found difficult to comprehend when he was back at Toro Rosso. It didn’t help that Verstappen had won the Spanish GP on his debut for Red Bull.
Kvyat was inconsistent and his problems persisted in 2017. After wrecking in the Singapore Grand Prix, he was dropped, but he did get a point in his one-time “return” in the US Grand Prix.
A year away from driving Ferrari’s simulator before signing a new contract with Toro Rosso for 2019. He performed admirably, but found it difficult to keep up with Gasly when the Frenchman joined him from Red Bull, where Albon had been substituted. Gasly scored more than twice as many points as Kvyat did in 2020 while playing for the new AlphaTauri squad. Yuki Tsunoda, the next rising star in the Red Bull junior ranks, finally succeeded Kvyat in 2021, despite some impressive results by Kvyat.
Gasly wouldn’t rank as highly on this list if he were just evaluated during his tenure on the senior squad. However, the Frenchman’s exploits with the Toro Rosso and rebranded AlphaTauri teams demonstrated that he is one of the top players in the competitive formula for tight midfield players.
Vettel didn’t enjoy the new vehicles at first, but the introduction of the turbo-hybrid regulations ultimately caused Red Bull to lose their dominance. Following his defeat by his new teammate Ricciardo, he departed to take on a fresh challenge with Ferrari.
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