Red Bull anticipate Alex Albon will head into 2020 “much better prepared” to compete with a year of experience under his belt.
The British-born Thai driver enjoyed a breakthrough season after a late call up to Toro Rosso before capitalising on the opportunity to race for the senior team for the final nine races.
Albon’s consistency was his noticeable trait as he would have claimed top-six finishes in every race with Red Bull had Lewis Hamilton not taken him out in Brazil.
And while his pace was sometimes a little off the other drivers ahead of him, team boss Christian Horner only sees an upward trajectory.
“It’s easy to forget that it was his first year in Formula 1,” he was quoted by GPToday.
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“He’s getting better and better at understanding the tyres, the complexity of how the cars operate.
“You see on Sunday that his pace is getting closer and closer, his pace is definitely getting stronger.
“A proper winter, pre-season, he knows the drill in F1. He’ll go to Melbourne a much better-prepared driver.”
Albon’s performance could well prove critical in determining whether teammate Max Verstappen can challenge for the F1 title as Red Bull remain confident of finally closing the gap to Mercedes and Ferrari.
“Going into next year, we have stability in the regulations so theoretically, the car that you see in three months will be an upgrade on the car that is here,” Horner explained.
“It would be very unusual to get any team to completely abandon a concept and it feels like we’re on the right trajectory.
“Unless we miss something, hopefully, we can be competitive from the start of next season.”
