Albon ‘not panicking’ about gap to Red Bull F1 teammate Verstappen

Alex Albon insists he sees no “need to panic” over the gap in performance between himself and Red Bull Formula 1 teammate Max Verstappen so far this season.

Verstappen was trailing Verstappen in the Austrian Grand Prix season-opener before the Dutchman retired with technical problems, while he was over 40 seconds behind Verstappen during Sunday’s Styrian Grand Prix.

The Anglo-Thai racer ultimately finished 11 seconds behind Verstappen at the chequered flag at the second consecutive round to be held at the Red Bull Ring but that was only after his teammate made the most of a free pit stop in the closing stages in a bid to push for the fastest lap bonus point.

“It was one kind of poor start to the race in race two and that was more or less the main issue,” Albon explained ahead of this weekend's Hungarian Grand Prix. “So I don’t think there needs to be a panic.

“It’s just managing the tyres a bit better and knowing when to push, when not to push. That’s more or less it at the moment. I think once I get a bit more comfortable with a car the pace will come as well.

“I’m improving each time,” he added. “I think coming here we have a much better understanding of the car, the car’s feeling good, it’s just about being up there and being consistent with it.”

Albon is contesting his first full-season with Red Bull after replacing the under-performing Pierre Gasly midway through 2019.

Asked if he is feeling any additional pressure to perform at Red Bull, Albon replied: “It’s still the same. Formula 1 is Formula 1, every driver is under pressure to perform.

“Of course I know I’ve got to do a good job, but it’s been like that since I’ve been eight years old so nothing really changes.”