Albon still learning controls on Toro Rosso steering wheel

Alexander Albon says he is still getting to grips with all of the buttons on his steering wheel ahead of his Formula 1 debut next month. The Toro Rosso rookie doesn't expect to feel completely comfortable in his new car until his first few races are complete.

Albon finished second-quickest on the final day of last week first pre-season test and started week two with a 103-lap haul as the Honda power unit in his Toro Rosso continued to show impressive reliability.

With just one more day in the car before he flies to Melbourne, Albon revealed some of the areas he's been working on as he aims to get up to speed with F1 and the increased complexities he's discovering compared to the Formula 2 car he drove last year.

"I'm still getting used to it, but with [help from] my engineer I'm getting more into the rhythm. The main thing at the minute is just trying to use all the tools on the steering wheel," Albon explained.

"I think there's quite a lot of potential there, in terms of tyre saving and all that kind of thing, it can really affect the balance just by a couple of switches. So it's just trying to make that become more natural.

That’s a wrap on Day 01 of the second pre-season test! @alex_albon ends the day with 103 laps and a best time of 1:18.649 ? pic.twitter.com/ZPb39cVQBk — Toro Rosso (@ToroRosso) February 26, 2019

"Obviously, at some points, you'll do it yourself rather than your engineer kind of suggesting things to do, so that's the main areas [of learning] at the moment."

Albon suggested that adapting to the step up from F2 to F1 has been made easier by the amount of mileage he's been able to do in a single day, and also by using tyres that are immediately familiar with from his time the junior categories.

"People forget that in F1 you do a lot of laps compared to F2 or stuff like that, so in one day 130-odd laps speeds you up quite quickly," said Albon. "I wouldn't say it's been a big learning curve, but the first thing that's quite comfortable is that you're on the same tyre.

"Being on Pirellis, you kind of understand that tyre. I think that's one of the main things for most drivers to get used to, but I think obviously doing F3 or F2, that part of it, understanding the tyre isn't that difficult.

"I'm still getting comfortable with the high speed [corners], and especially in race management, there's that balance between pushing and not pushing. I think it's not easy, but it's easier when you're going for a push lap because then you just rag it really, but obviously, when it comes to race pace, that's the main area that I want to work on.

"I think we'll see come day three or day four, some teams will start to do race simulations and in Melbourne, we'll see. It's just experience. I'll only really feel in the swing of it once I've done Melbourne, Bahrain and get into that flow."

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