Alex Albon has played down any impact Pierre Gasly’s victory at Monza may have on his position at Red Bull.
As the Thai limped home in 15th with a damaged car, the Frenchman capitalised on the mid-race craziness to take the lead and hold off Carlos Sainz to give AlphaTauri their second Formula 1 win in Italy.
It was a result that capped off a brilliant year for Gasly since he was demoted back to the junior team last August, but despite some calls for him to be re-promoted, Albon is calm.
“Monza was a pretty positive weekend really, take away the Sunday,” he said ahead of the Mugello GP. “It’s getting better pace-wise and I was feeling more comfortable in terms of a feeling.
“The process stays the same, I think it’s been like that since my first race in Formula 1.
“On my side, I’m looking at my own recent races and things have been going on the up, so I’m happy with the way it’s going and we have another weekend now to get it together and focus.
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“I do think Monza didn’t really reflect what’s going on, but times will come and I’m sure when I have the opportunities I’ll be showing what I can do,” he added.
“Joining a top team you want to do well because it’s an opportunity to win races or get podiums.
“But in terms of added pressure, the pressure really comes from within, it’s yourself wanting to do well rather than anything else, that doesn’t really change when you change team.”
As for Max Verstappen he also made it clear he doesn’t expect any changes to Red Bull’s line-up moving forward.
“He’s (Gasly) not next to me, I don’t think he will be next to me also next year,” said the Dutchman.
Max also warned the Frenchman that one good race doesn’t mean much in the grand scheme of F1.
“It was a great race for them, I was very happy for the team but I think they also know there was a lot of luck involved,” he noted.
“You could tell it meant a lot to Pierre, he had a tough time last year. He’s doing well, he feels at home with the team and that’s very important.
“I was happy for Pierre, for sure he enjoyed it and it’s nice to get your first victory because you never know when you go to Formula 1 if you’ll ever win again.
“Winning is winning, it’s always nice in any category. They will talk a bit about you in the first week but you are only as good as your last race, so you have to always keep it up.”