66 GP RACING APRIL 2020
as well as gelwith the senior Red Bull team.
The results came immediately – inevery race
of the remaining events but one, Albon finished
in the points, in one of Class A’s typical top-six
positions. Whilethis was enough to keepthe
drive for 2020, they weren’t the headline three
podiums and one win Verstappen scored over
the same period. In the one event where Albon
finished out of the points, Brazil, he could well
have finished secondto h is team-mate, but fora
heart-wrenching late clashwith Lewis Hamilton.
“In a way, it was even a bit harder just because
we didn’t get any testing – it was all donethrough
FP1, FP2, FP3s,” Albon says of joining Red Bull.
“It wasn’t as now, when we’ve had winter testing
and thatbrea k [ahead of 2020]
where we can really develop the
car. It was very much like ‘OK,
I just need something, give me
something and I’ll work with it’.
“That’s where this winter break
came in handy – it was kind of
the first proper sit-down with
the team and the engineers,
and getting some kind of
plan together.”
Albon might have been able
to spend more time bonding
with Red Bull over the winter, but he’s facing the
same issue Gasly had in the early phases of 2019.
Namely, how to cope with matching Verstappen,
and the additional pressure that brings.
Gasly had come into Red Bull after an
impressive debut year with Toro Rosso. But his
underwhelmingstart to life at the senior squadfirst five laps I thought ‘you knowwhat? Ok –I
got this, I can do this’ and that was me really set
for winter testing [in 2019].”
Albon started his rookie campaign alongside
Kvyat, who was returning to the team he had
been cast from in favour of the Gasly/Brendon
Hartley line-up Toro Rosso took for 2018. This
meant he could study a driver who had completed
72 races with the squad, and knew how to go
about getting preparedfor a newseason.
So Albon began by watching Kvyat, even
“just looking at body language – how he was
communicating to theteam”,to get a sense of
where he needed setthe tone.
But by the summerbrea k of 2019 – after
negotiating afew incidents early
on, such as his crash in Australia
FP1, or his massive accident in
China qualifying, fromwhich
he recovered to score a point in
the race –Albon could play his
own kindof music. In the points
Kvyat led 27- 12,butKvyat had
taken a so mewhatfortuitous
third placeinG ermany, where
Albon haddriven arguably his
best race fo r Toro Rosso. But
then everythingcha nged as Red
Bull came beckoning.
“As I started to settle down,” he explains, “that
was when I hadthe call! Then there was a reset.”
From Spa, he had togo back to square one–
learn how his new squad worked, and pick up
cues from Max that he hoped would help himget
the best from the RB15 to find its “sweet spot”,Withnoguaranteesforhisfuture
after2020,thisseasoniscrucial
ifAlbonwishestoremainina
‘ClassA’seat“THAT’S WHERE THIS
WINTER BREAK CAME
IN HANDY – ITWAS
KIND OF THE FIRST
PROPER SIT-DOWN
WITH THE TEAM AND
THE ENGINEERS”
66 GP RACING APRIL 2020
as well as gelwith the senior Red Bull team.
The results came immediately – inevery race
of the remaining events but one, Albon finished
in the points, in one of Class A’s typical top-six
positions. Whilethis was enough to keepthe
drive for 2020, they weren’t the headline three
podiums and one win Verstappen scored over
the same period. In the one event where Albon
finished out of the points, Brazil, he could well
have finished secondto h is team-mate, but fora
heart-wrenching late clashwith Lewis Hamilton.
“In a way, it was even a bit harder just because
we didn’t get any testing – it was all donethrough
FP1, FP2, FP3s,” Albon says of joining Red Bull.
“It wasn’t as now, when we’ve had winter testing
and thatbrea k [ahead of 2020]
where we can really develop the
car. It was very much like ‘OK,
I just need something, give me
something and I’ll work with it’.
“That’s where this winter break
came in handy – it was kind of
the first proper sit-down with
the team and the engineers,
and getting some kind of
plan together.”
Albon might have been able
to spend more time bonding
with Red Bull over the winter, but he’s facing the
same issue Gasly had in the early phases of 2019.
Namely, how to cope with matching Verstappen,
and the additional pressure that brings.
Gasly had come into Red Bull after an
impressive debut year with Toro Rosso. But his
underwhelmingstart to life at the senior squadfirst five laps I thought ‘you knowwhat? Ok –I
got this, I can do this’ and that was me really set
for winter testing [in 2019].”
Albon started his rookie campaign alongside
Kvyat, who was returning to the team he had
been cast from in favour of the Gasly/Brendon
Hartley line-up Toro Rosso took for 2018. This
meant he could study a driver who had completed
72 races with the squad, and knew how to go
about getting preparedfor a newseason.
So Albon began by watching Kvyat, even
“just looking at body language – how he was
communicating to theteam”,to get a sense of
where he needed setthe tone.
But by the summerbrea k of 2019 – after
negotiating afew incidents early
on, such as his crash in Australia
FP1, or his massive accident in
China qualifying, fromwhich
he recovered to score a point in
the race –Albon could play his
own kindof music. In the points
Kvyat led 27- 12,butKvyat had
taken a so mewhatfortuitous
third placeinG ermany, where
Albon haddriven arguably his
best race fo r Toro Rosso. But
then everythingcha nged as Red
Bull came beckoning.
“As I started to settle down,” he explains, “that
was when I hadthe call! Then there was a reset.”
From Spa, he had togo back to square one–
learn how his new squad worked, and pick up
cues from Max that he hoped would help himget
the best from the RB15 to find its “sweet spot”,
Withnoguaranteesforhisfuture
after2020,thisseasoniscrucial
ifAlbonwishestoremainina
‘ClassA’seat“THAT’S WHERE THIS
WINTER BREAK CAME
IN HANDY – ITWAS
KIND OF THE FIRST
PROPER SIT-DOWN
WITH THE TEAM AND
THE ENGINEERS”