Following the Eifel GP at the weekend, Helmut Marko told German channel Sport1 that he’d been in contact with Nico Hulkenberg about potentially replacing Alex Albon after the Thai driver had an inconclusive test for the Coronavirus on Friday. 

However, Albon ultimately tested negative and could take part as Hulkenberg ended up in the Racing Point because Lance Stroll felt unwell.  

In the interview with Sport1, Marko said: "We were already in talks with Hulkenberg on Friday, because Albon, like many others, had an inconclusive test result. 

"It could have turned out to be positive. Right after landing, I called Hulkenberg because our suspected case was Albon. But thank god it turned out that Albon was negative after all." 

Alex Albon’s difficulties in getting close to Max Verstappen has led to lots of speculation about his future. While Marko namechecked Hulkenberg and Sergio Perez as drivers who are available for 2021, the Austrian believes Albon can do a good job enough to keep his seat. 

Despite a terrible performance in the race at the Nurburgring on Sunday where he made contact with Daniel Ricciardo on the opening lap and breaking Daniil Kvyat’s front wing whilst overtaking the Russian, Marko believes Albon’s weekend was ‘’satisfactory.’’  

"We can call the names that are available on the market," said Marko. "This is Hulkenberg and this is Perez. The question is how far away they would be from Max? 

"We have comparisons with [Daniel] Ricciardo and we can draw conclusions about where the drivers stand. I don't think that anyone would get closer than three tenths. 

"On good days, Albon is also able to create this proximity to Max. Albon is young, but we are aware that if he can't stand the pressure, we can't afford to be standing on one leg when it comes to the world championship. That is the situation. 

"It is actually impossible for a world championship if you only have one car in the action. But we are not there yet. 

"The performance [of Albon] at the Nurburgring was satisfactory. That's just the situation." 

Throughout their time in F1, Red Bull has promoted drivers from their junior squad. Marko believes that isn’t possible at the moment, though.  

Red Bull junior Yuki Tsunoda has impressed in Formula 2 this year as he sits 3rd in the standings following two wins and still has an outside chance of stealing the title. However, Marko believes it would be too soon to promote him straight to Red Bull.  

"Up to now, we have always recruited our drivers from our own junior squad. But there's nobody here at the moment," added Marko. 

"We do have a Japanese who is very fast, but this would be his first year. And to put him in a top team like Red Bull Racing for the first year would risk burning him out. We are not planning to do that." 

"So we would have to go the way most other teams do, to rely on proven drivers." 

Marko says three of the four seats between AlphaTauri and Red Bull for 2021 are sorted, which hints at Yuki Tsunoda joining Pierre Gasly in the junior team next year. "We are actually already clear about three positions," said Marko. "We want to make the fourth one by Istanbul in mid-November at the latest." 

Asked what it would boil down to when it comes to deciding the seat, Marko said: "Primarily it is the performance of Albon. As long as he is in the green zone, there is simply no cockpit available." 

Marko believes Hulkenberg put in a ‘’great performance’’ last weekend following the German’s last-ditch call-up by Racing Point.   

"I think the worst thing that can happen to a driver is to get into a car for qualifying," he said. "You have to take into account that he knows the Racing Point from his previous races, but it was certainly a very difficult situation. 

"He gradually improved during the race, did nothing stupid and drove the car to a commanding eighth place. We followed the times. At times [Pierre] Gasly and [Daniil] Kvyat were also close to him. 

"Then I saw that he was gradually getting closer to Perez's times. Hats off. A great performance."