Alex Albon’s first Toro Rosso and Red Bull outings had “similar feelings”

Alexander Albon has said that his debut’s for both Toro Rosso and Red Bull Racing had “similar feelings” after his promotion from the junior team to the senior team in the summer break.

Albon replaced Brendan Hartley at Toro Rosso for 2019, scoring five points finishes before being swapped with Pierre Gasly into a Red Bull seat during the summer break.
 
That move came with seven top six finishes in a row, a highest of fourth at the Japanese Grand Prix and produced an excellent race in Brazil, on track to finish second for a Red Bull one-two before being spun by the Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton.
 
"It was similar feelings, similar thoughts processes in terms of it's more just question marks like 'How am I going to do or fare?' with the big boys," Albon said as quoted by GPToday.net.
 
"It was the same kind of process before the season even started. Because I've already gone through it, I felt more comfortable the second time, in Spa.
 
"It's kind of that thing, it's a lot of thinking but once you step in the car and put your helmet on, it all goes away and you focus on your driving."
 
The Thai-British driver went on to say that having time to get more comfortable with a team and car helps produce better performances.
 
"You're never going to feel completely settled before you drive the car for the first time," he added.
 
"I don't think that exists, but it was very natural. The more you feel comfortable with the team, the more of the lap time that comes. It's only normal when you first jump into the car to feel that way. 
 
"Once you get to know the team and the car, that's really where the performance comes from and you start to be able to push and the team in the direction that you want to go."