Alexander Albon says that Red Bull’s Formula 1 cars are set up in a “unique” way to suit the style of Max Verstappen.
Verstappen has enjoyed a successful period with Red Bull across the last two years, taking back-to-back World Championships.
Prior to his F1 title success, he was joined at the Milton Keynes-based team by Albon for some 18 months.
Albon replaced Pierre Gasly at the squad after the Frenchman struggled to adapt following his move from the sister Toro Rosso team.
Verstappen was notably the faster competitor against both Gasly and Albon, and at the end of 2020, Albon was dropped in favour of Sergio Perez.
However, Perez too has struggled to get the better of Verstappen, with Albon claiming that Red Bull designs its cars to suit Verstappen’s style.
“This isn’t to throw shade at anyone at Red Bull Racing or Max or anything, honestly,” Albon told The Players’ Tribune.
“But the car is set up in a unique way that is built around the lead driver, and that’s Max. And, look, I totally get why.
“I mean, when all is said and done, he might be the greatest driver of all time. But he has a very distinct style of driving, and he likes the car set up a certain way that’s hard for a lot of drivers to sync up with.
“Of course, you can tinker and tweak your own car, but just the Red Bull in general is suited to Max’s style.”
Albon’s comments have appeared after Verstappen denied claims that Red Bull’s cars are set up to suit his style.
Following his departure from a full-time Red Bull race seat, Albon spent the 2021 campaign on the sidelines with the energy drink-backed outfut as a reserve before joining Williams in 2022.
Reflecting back on his first experiences with Red Bull, he described how he was informed that he would be a mid-season replacement for Gasly.
“With Helmut [Marko] you just come to expect anything and everything. He put me up at the hotel he owns in the city, and I met with him the next day across the street,” he said.
“For the first 20 minutes or so it was about my season so far, then quite a bit about moving and all the logistics involved.
“Then toward the end he goes: ’OK, so you’re going to be in the main team now, starting at Spa. ‘We’re going to make the announcement in 30 minutes. So call who you need to and all that’.”
Albon hinted that he felt he was thrown into the deep end by being promoted to Red Bull so early in his career.
“I was 12 races into my Formula 1 career. How was I going to do? How long would it take me to adapt? I just didn’t have the data on myself.
“I didn’t know what I didn’t know. I went into it as open-minded as I could be and, just like at Toro Rosso, I tried to learn as much as I could as quickly as I could. I think that’s one of my strengths.
“But Red Bull Racing, it’s not really a place for learning. And fair enough, I get that. They’re trying to win races. When I got in the car and had a few sessions under my belt, I thought of Pierre.”
Albon made his debut for Red Bull at the 2020 Belgian Grand Prix, and says one of his initial shocks was just how much front-end grip existed in the car.
“I like a lot of front end and nose. I’ve been team-mates with George [Russell] and Charles [Leclerc] and I’ve always had way more nose than them.
“Basically think front-end sensitivity. And when I got into the Red Bull … I mean there was so much nose on the thing that if you blew on the wheel the car would turn.
“If you play Call of Duty, or a game like that, turn your sensitivity up to the highest it will go. That’s what it’s like to drive that car.”
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