Formula 1 rookie Alex Albon is “surprising” his Toro Rosso team as he enjoys a solid start to his first season.
The F2 graduate became the first Thai driver to score points since Prince Bera in 1954 when he finished ninth in Bahrain, and has been more than a match for teammate Daniil Kvyat at both the opening races.
His results though are only part of what makes team boss Franz Tost very satisfied with Albon.
“He surprised all of us by a fantastic performance and also by really good technical feedback, he has also a good overview of how to treat the tyres,” the Austrian told Crash.net.
“I must say that Toro Rosso has a very, very strong driver line-up this year and I’m convinced that both of them will have a lot of success in the future.”
The 23-year-old also credits the wisdom of Tost for how he has approached making the jump to F1.
“It’s very easy in this world, especially in F1, to feel under pressure all the time,” Albon noted. “[But] I’m here to enjoy it really. I love the sport. I loved my time in Melbourne.
“I’m kind of taking it, not a step back to it all, but enjoying it really. Franz always tells me: don’t care, just don’t care, just do your thing. I do take it onboard as it is definitely a thing in F1.”
Also Read:
- Albon reveals initial ‘shock’ at speed of F1 after first test day
- Albon: Red Bull program was my only realistic route to F1
Albon has also been surprised by the type of racing F1 requires, whether it be pushing 95% of the time in Australia or the wheel-to-wheel fights in the desert.
“I enjoyed the race [in Bahrain] because it was busy and I learned a lot,” he said.
“We started battling so I can start to understand what happens when you follow other people and get close and everything like that.
“I really do think there was more in it, it’s a bit of a shame the start because I think with clean air we could have done a lot better.
“Still, I’m happy with the performance. We just need to first qualify a bit better and get into Q3, because I think we can do that and then we’ll see in the race.
“I’m surprised that in Formula 1 you do your own race,” he added.
“Everybody is pitting, exiting the pits, and you don’t really know who you’re fighting. It seems like you just finish the race and you go ‘great, just great!’ That’s F1, I think.”