Albon overtakes catch the eye of Red Bull

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner praised Alexander Albon's performance at the Belgian Grand Prix as the Thai driver enjoyed a fine debut for the senior team.

Having stepped up from Toro Rosso to replace the demoted Pierre Gasly, Albon came into the weekend with a drop to the back of the starting grid hanging over him.

Albon fought through the field, especially in the second half of the race, with a last-lap overtake on Sergio Perez securing a career-best fifth place.

A move around the outside of Daniel Ricciardo of the usually calm Jacky Ickx corner particularly caught the eye, notable especially as Gasly was dropped for not showing enough in overtaking chances.

Horner said: "Alex has impressed me all weekend with his approach, his feedback, his pace. In the race he did a very mature job.

"The first half of the race we weren't quite as competitive on the harder tyre as we were on the softer tyre but he didn't make any silly mistakes or take any silly risks. He just dialled himself in.

"I said to him on the grid, 'I think the car will come alive in the second half of the race'. It certainly did.

"We know Daniel's a tough racer – his move on Daniel, his move on Sergio on the last lap were impressive. To go from P17 to P5 was a very good start."

P17 ➡️ P5 @alex_albon picking off his targets and working his way through the pack! 🎯🚀#PoweredByHonda

pic.twitter.com/34Zyr0N8K7

— Honda Racing F1 (@HondaRacingF1) September 2, 2019

Horner also credited the performance of Gasly, who finished in ninth in his first race back in Toro Rosso.

"Having spoken to Pierre over the weekend as well, he seems to have exactly the right frame of mind getting into the Toro Rosso," Horner said.

"He recognises there's still opportunities for him and he's approaching it with the right mind-set."

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