Alexander Albon says he is mindful of enjoying his time in Formula 1 as opposed to feeling the pressure of competing in the championship.
Albon, third in last year’s Formula 2 championship, has stepped up to Formula 1 this year with Toro Rosso in place of Brendon Hartley, who was axed after just 25 races.
Albon cut a visibly more relaxed figure in Bahrain and commented: “It’s very easy in this world, especially in F1, to feel under pressure all the time.
“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 [Tost] always tells me: don’t care [about other elements], just don’t care, just do your thing. I do take it onboard as it is definitely a thing in F1.”
Albon emphasised that he is continuing to get a handle on Formula 1 – and its additional activities – with each passing event.
“It’s all coming a lot easier,” said Albon. “In Barcelona it was initially [understanding] the engineers, just trying to speak to each person individually and understanding where to extract lap time.
“In F2 we speak together in a group. There were a lot of things we complain about we can’t fix, such as the clutch issues last year.
“In F1 it’s like every single thing you can change. To be able to process it and prioritise what things need to be sorted out, what’s beneficial for lap time [is important], and other stuff that’s maybe not important you still report it as it might get changed.
“The media stuff, it’s a lot calmer [in Bahrain], but Melbourne was quite intensive. But I’m just getting used to it. the more I do it the more I feel comfortable with it.”
Albon scored his maiden points in Bahrain courtesy of classifying in ninth position.
