How driver 'killed' by Verstappen achieved F1 redemption over the years

Max Verstappen has managed to beat quite a few teammates over the past years. The Dutchman has often had to do it alone for the Red Bull Racing team. In the Red Flags Podcast former team boss Guenther Steiner reflected on a driver who was shattered by Verstappen, but is now on his way back.

The driver Steiner was referring to is Alexander Albon, who was Verstappen's teammate at Red Bull and succumbed to the pressure from the Dutchman, even though he wasn’t the only one to meet such a fate over the years.

Max Verstappen during the Belgium GP

Steiner praises Albon redemption

he Williams driver couldn't keep up with Verstappen, but was praised by Steiner: ''He was there before. He was always considered.''

''He's another one, a little bit like Hulkenberg. He never could make it in at the right time in a good team, up to now. He's late 20s, so he still got a chance.''

The former Haas team principal added: ''He's one of them again, which, as he said, was rated very highly, then got basically his career got killed by a certain Max Verstappen, which killed another five careers.''

''He wasn't the only one, but he made up good again. I think when there is a seat in a good team, he will be one of the candidates because he's good. There's no doubt about that. Everybody knows that.''

Will Tsunoda remain Verstappen's teammate?

There’s been much speculation about Verstappen’s future with Red Bull, but it appears he’s set to stay.

Helmut Marko has confirmed that Verstappen will remain loyal to the team in 2026, though official confirmation from Verstappen himself is still awaited. Whether Yuki Tsunoda will join as his teammate remains uncertain.

GPblog previously reported that Tsunoda is unlikely to race for Red Bull by 2026, but the Japanese driver is keeping all options open.

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