Toro Rosso boss backs Albon to "surprise"

Alex Albon has only driven a Formula One car once in his life ahead of his outing today in testing, and this lack of experience could work against him in the opening rounds of the season.

The Thai driver finished third in Formula Two last year, and the call up to Toro Rosso was so unexpected, he had already signed a Formula E deal.

Fortunately, he was able to escape the deal, with his team releasing him and Tost believes he has the ability to surprise many in the paddock.

He told media at the Circuit de Catalunya on Monday: “All the meetings I had so far with Alex keep me quite optimistic.

Tost also pointed towards Albon’s junior career as a sign of promise.

He added: “We must not forget he was successful in Formula Three in GP3, he was together with Leclerc, he also could beat him a couple of times. And in Formula Two he showed real some good races, good overtaking manouevres.