F1 News

Marko on surprise of the season Albon

Marko on "surprise of the season" Albon

20-04-2019 09:30
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Bobby Vincent

Alexander Albon has started life in Formula 1 brilliantly, following three impressive performances for Toro Rosso, including two successive points finishes in Bahrain and China.

Toro Rosso, Red Bull Racing's junior team, struggled to find a second driver for 2019 - with Daniil Kvyat already being announced to take one of the seats, but Albon was eventually given the chance.

Last weekend, Albon faced his toughest task in F1 thus far; crashing out in FP3 and subsequently missing the whole of qualifying, meaning the British-born Thai driver had to start the Chinese Grand Prix from the pitlane. 

Albon fought his way back into contention, eventually finishing in 10th-place as a reward for his efforts. Red Bull consultant Dr Helmut Marko is usually a VERY tough man to please, but even he is impressed with the youngster's efforts.

"Albon is a young man, he is not fazed about anything," Marko explained. "From the moment he climbed into the car in winter tests, he became faster and faster. For me, Alexander is the surprise of the season in terms of speed and race management, in Australia he performed reasonably well and, in Bahrain, he was even netter."