No way. They already learned that having 2 number 1 drivers doesn't work (Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg on 2016 season). They won that season, but if it weren't for the totally superior car, they were on a tight margin. Distributing the winning points to two drivers doesn't work to secure both the Driver's championship and the Manufacturer's championship. There's a reason why Red Bull picked Max Verstappen over Carlos Sainz instead of having both, or why Ferrari had troubles last season with LeClerc suddenly performed better than Vettel.

Is it fair? No. Drivers like Barrichello and Massa never got a title, while arguably they are champion-level drivers. I think Bottas is someone in that position right now.

The other question is would you rather be in Bottas' shoes of being on the top team but the number 2 driver, or like Ricciardo or Hulkenberg which are also top tier drivers but haven't had a clear shot to compete or even the chance to get a podium for the latter. Motorsports (and Formula 1) is a cruel world.

> There's a reason why Red Bull picked Max Verstappen over Carlos Sainz instead of having both

Redbull haven’t really resolved this problem though. Max obviously has championship potential, and is their number one driver. But they haven’t managed to find a suitable teammate for him. They need their own Bottas. A driver who is comfortable being the number 2, but talented enough to lock out the front row and consistently get on the podium with Max. They’ve found good personality fits (Albon is perfect in that respect), but haven’t found anybody who is also talented enough to give Redbull constructor potential.

That said, I really like Bottas, and I think it’s sad he doesn’t have a shot at fighting for the championship. His performance at CotA last year was amazing, and it felt great to watch him really race Hamilton (though the team arguably gave Bottas a safer strategy in this case).

Albon is still really new though. Bottas didn't get to his current form after a few years in Williams. I think Albon has the potential; this year is supposed to be the time to prove it. At least he's much better than Gasly and the team picked Albon over Kvyat. I'm really excited about him. The whole younger squad is really exciting to watch, can't wait for the battle in 3-5 years.

Yeah I really hope Albon does well at Redbull. He’s got a very likeable personality, and he’s clearly got the potential at least. His performance at Interlagos was fantastic, it was very sad to see him get taken out by Hamilton. I’m just not sure if Redbull have the patience to foster his talent on the No 1 squad. That’s supposed to be what Toro Rosso is for.

I think Bottas is in a comfortable spot but has to give up his dreams of a title as long as Hamilton is around. Some drivers are ok with that, some aren’t. Ricciardo probably could also have stayed with Red Bull as a very good number two driver but he didn’t want to give up the title dream. Unfortunately he seems to have bet on the wrong team...

Yeah, and I'm sure he'd like the chance but either he puts everything in for a chance (as Rosberg did and decided he burned out after winning), or take the hit and do a good job for the best team.

Ricciardo made the same move Lewis did, and the delay in the new regulation opens up opportunity for him. How good or what could it be is very uncertain, though. I think he's very unfortunate in timing; I think he would take the chance of the Mercedes seat if he weren't in contract at that time. And if he knows McLaren were moving to Mercedes engine, he might consider that too. Nobody knows what Renault showed him that made him sign though. Or maybe $80M can wipe that pain away..

“Or maybe $80M can wipe that pain away.”

It definitely helps :)