Alex Albon: "I’m building confidence with the car"

Red Bull driver Alex Albon had a largely positive day in FP1 and FP2, finishing 6th in the first practice before ending up in 10th in the second practice session. His teammate Max Verstappen performed brilliantly coming 2nd and 1st in the respective sessions.

Albon ended up in 6th place at the previous Grand Prix in Singapore, which was his best result for the team since making the step up from Toro Rosso.

“FP1 went well this morning but this afternoon in FP2, I got a bit of floor damage after running wide out of Turn 4 which meant we lost some running which was a shame," Albon said.

"That delayed things and then when we got back out it was a never-ending traffic jam with everyone on long runs so I didn’t get any clean laps in.

"I tried to stay out of trouble as best I could and I heard Bottas was just behind me but I didn’t know Lewis was right behind him and so it was my mistake to get in his way.

The 23-year-old currently sits 8th in the drivers' standings, just 16 points behind Carlos Sainz of McLaren with six races remaining.

"I think the car is quick and the pace is good. I just need to work on it my side and get a cleaner run tomorrow.

"I’m building confidence with the car and this takes time, but compared to Singapore, I think we’re looking good.”