Formula 1

Red Bull’s F1 cars are tailored to suit Verstappen’s driving style – Albon

Published

4 weeks ago

28/02/2023

Red Bull F1 cars are tailored to suit Verstappen driving style Albon

F1 driver Alex Albon reveals insights on Red Bull’s car design tailored to Max Verstappen’s driving style in recent column.

Alex Albon, the Formula 1 driver for Williams, has shared insights regarding his unsuccessful stint with Red Bull’s top team and the design of Red Bull cars that were tailored to suit Max Verstappen’s driving approach.

In 2021, Alex Albon was relegated to a reserve role by Red Bull, following a year and a half that failed to meet his and the team’s expectations.

Alex Albon managed to return to the F1 grid last year, driving a 2022 Williams car that reignited his passion for racing. In a recent column he wrote for The Players’ Tribune, Albon revealed that he frequently reflects on his initial two years in F1, which now seem like a surreal experience to him.

During his tenure at Red Bull, Alex Albon was hindered by the difficulty of adjusting to a car that did not align with his preferred driving style.

Alex Albon has demonstrated an aggressive driving style that has been successful for him while racing for Toro Rosso and Williams. In those teams, he allowed the car to maneuver naturally when encountering challenging situations, such as dips in traction or grip levels during cornering.

However, during his stint at Red Bull, Albon was required to drive with a more passive and gentle approach, and he seldom pushed the car to the limit as he does now at Williams.

Alex Albon struggled to cope with the rear instability and the pointy handling characteristics of Red Bull’s cars during 2019 and 2020, which he mentioned in his column.

It is not that Albon cannot handle rear instability in any car; he excelled at Toro Rosso despite this issue. However, the specific kind of rear instability and pointiness that was present in Red Bull’s cars presented a significant challenge for him to overcome.

In contrast, Max Verstappen was able to adapt and thrive with this kind of rear instability and front-end sensitivity while turning, although he did have brief periods of adjustment to Red Bull’s recent F1 cars.

Alex Albon clarified that his comments regarding Red Bull’s car design were not intended to criticize anyone, including the team’s lead driver, Max Verstappen.

Albon acknowledged that the car’s unique setup was tailored to suit Verstappen’s distinctive driving style, which could be challenging for other drivers to synchronize with. He also acknowledged Verstappen’s exceptional driving ability, which may ultimately make him one of the greatest drivers of all time.

Albon added that although drivers could make adjustments to their cars to some extent, the overall design of the Red Bull cars is best suited to Max Verstappen’s style of driving.

Furthermore, he compared the front-end sensitivity of the Red Bull car to playing Call of Duty on the highest joystick sensitivity level, where even slight inputs on the joystick can result in significant character movement.

Albon also reminisced about the time when he was asked to replace Pierre Gasly during his debut F1 season with Toro Rosso, a moment that he never thought would happen.

Albon shared that Helmut Marko, a Red Bull advisor, summoned him to Austria and arranged for him to stay in a hotel he owned in Graz. Shortly before the official announcement, Marko informed him that he would be joining Red Bull’s senior team at Spa.

Albon acknowledged that it was a remarkable opportunity and he was aware of the privilege it represented.

Albon acknowledged that, as a driver, he wanted to compete at the highest level and strive for victories and championships. However, he was also aware of the talents of Pierre Gasly, who he had observed for many years, and recognized that Gasly was a highly skilled driver with more experience than him.

Despite this, Red Bull made the decision to switch him with Gasly mid-season. Albon expressed his curiosity about the reasons behind this decision and spent the summer break pondering it.

After a few sessions in the RB15 car, Albon began to understand why Gasly had struggled to perform at the same level as Verstappen, who had secured two wins in the first 12 races of the season while Gasly had yet to secure a podium.

Albon realized that driving the Red Bull car required a specific set of skills and driving style that could be challenging for drivers to master, particularly those who were used to different types of cars.

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