Helmut Marko rates Alex Albon's performances so far

Alex Albon has received a major boost ahead of the Chinese Grand Prix by picking up praise from Helmut Marko. Albon has demonstrated good speed across the opening two weekends.

With the help of Renault's double DNF in Bahrain, Albon picked up his first Formula 1 point score. But even without the luck, the youngster has produced positive qualifying results.

It's rare to hear praise from Marko, and he admits he was pleasantly surprised by the results. This is what he had to say about Albon's start.

“He drove very impressively through the third sector. Something like that comes at the expense of the tires, but when we talk about pure speed and aggressiveness, Alex has surprised us in a positive way," Marko told Motorsport.com.