Alex Albon has provided an insight into his turbulent Red Bull Formula 1 career by describing his first reactions to the Red Bull car. Having made his debut at the start of the 2019 season for Red Bull junior team Toro Rosso, Albon was promoted to the senior Red Bull team partway through the season. He replaced Pierre Gasly, who was demoted back to Toro Rosso after only a 12-race stint at the main team. Albon would go on to score two podiums with Red Bull in 2020 before being replaced by Sergio Perez for 2021, bringing an end to a high-pressure stint at the front of the grid.
Writing for The Players' Tribune , Albon spoke at length about his time at, and demotion from, Red Bull, along with his memories of the first few days at the wheel of the RB15. "When I got in the car and had a few sessions under my belt, I thought of Pierre," said Albon, before adding a message aimed at Gasly in solidarity: "I get it. I get it, mate." "This isn’t to throw shade at anyone at Red Bull Racing or Max or anything, honestly. 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 continued to elaborate on Verstappen's driving style and how the Red Bull cars operate: "I like a lot of front end and nose. I’ve been teammates with George and Charles 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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