Release date: July 1, 2020
Christian Horner described Alex Albon as a “surprise of the season” while continuing his role as a Red Bull driver.
Albon made his Formula 1 debut at the traditional season opener at Albert Park in 2019 and drove for the Red Bull junior team known at the time as Toro Rosso.
But the British-Thai driver only had 12 races to go before he was given the job of replacing the struggling Pierre Gasly at Red Bull, and he responded well by finishing in the top six in eight of the remaining nine races.
Albon was on his way to a podium in Brazil before falling back to 14th place in a late collision with Lewis Hamilton.
With the extended break in Formula 1, Albon will not be able to achieve a full season with Red Bull, but despite the relative inexperience, Horner has high hopes.
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“For Alex, people forget it’s his second season in Formula 1 and he missed the first half of it, so it was a fire baptism – but he did incredibly well last year, said Horner, as quoted by The Run.
“He seems to handle pressure very well and we’re just looking for him to make progress where he finished last season.
“I think there will be opportunities for him, and I really think he could be the surprise of the season in many ways this year.”
Albon is also in a good mood as Red Bull prepares to start its season with two home races at the Red Bull Ring in Austria.
“I feel good,” he said.
“There is [been] so much time [away] that there will be some degree of uncertainty in every driver about what will happen.
“I’m glad I did the shooting day to get this initial dust off my shoulders, but I’m excited, we’ve all been waiting for it.
“There was a long drought, we all do it because we love it and missed it, so I can’t wait to get started.”
Red Bull’s motorsport advisor, Helmut Marko, has asked Albon to prove that he deserves his place in the team as they continue to review their options for 2021.
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