Red Bull confident of cure for "sensitive" Albon's car issues
Red Bull confident of cure for "sensitive" Albon's car issues
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner is confident the team can adapt the RB16 to suit the “sensitive” driving of Alex Albon.
The Thai-British driver suffered what Horner referred to as his “hardest [race] of the year” at the Sochi Autodrom, battling from 15th after being hit with a grid penalty to score a single point for 10th place in the Russian Grand Prix
The struggle for performance across the weekend was in contrast to team-mate Max Verstappen's stellar qualifying lap and polished drive to second, and also Albon's own superb performance a fortnight previously during the Tuscan Grand Prix when he scored his first podium.
"[It's a] Shame after the podium two weeks ago that this one has probably [been] one of the hardest of the year for him,” said Horner.
"I think we have understood some of the issues with the car and we are obviously working hard to address those and hopefully in the remaining races we will be able to take steps to improve the car in that area."
Albon currently sits fifth in the drivers’ standings, a point behind McLaren’s Lando Norris and on exactly half the total of Verstappen’s points haul.
Outlining Albon’s difficulties, Horner added: “I think that Alex is particularly sensitive to some of the characteristics of the car.
"It was accentuated at this kind of circuit with short corners and big braking zones so plenty to look at for him. His second half of the race he recovered reasonably well but it was a difficult weekend for him.”
Verstappen was able to split the Mercedes cars in both qualifying and the race, securing his seventh podium of the campaign with an impressive drive to second behind Mercedes' Valtteri Bottas.
Horner confirmed, though, both Red Bull cars were hampered by similar energy recovery limitations.
He explained, "I think this circuit was always going to be difficult for us. We have quite a lot of clipping here and that has an effect.
"So I think it was skewed by that energy recovery. We knew that before we got here so it was always going to be a more challenging race for us."
Before you go...
Schumacher a "champion in the making" - Alfa Romeo boss
Bottas back in Formula 1 title hunt after "overdue" win - Wolff
Related
Change your timezone:
Latest News
Haas announce Hulkenberg EXIT as F1 star's new team confirmed
- 3 hours ago
F1 champion claims Drive to Survive success was 'very lucky'
- 1 hour ago
F1 franchise welcomes return of INCREDIBLE feature
- 2 hours ago
F1 News Today: Red Bull star set to QUIT team as F1 driver role CONFIRMED for 2025
- 2 hours ago
F1 team set to axe BOTH star drivers
- 3 hours ago
Red Bull to lose F1 MVP as true cost of Horner saga hits
- Today 09:57
Related news
Newey exit DATE revealed as Red Bull F1 chief set to leave
Horner reveals 'unhuman' Verstappen secret
Red Bull already sending parts to F1 race MONTHS away
Schumacher reveals what F1 pundits are NOT allowed to say about Red Bull
F1 Standings
Drivers
- Oliver Bearman
- Charles Leclerc
- Carlos Sainz
- Lando Norris
- Oscar Piastri
- Pierre Gasly
- Esteban Ocon
- Sergio Pérez
- Max Verstappen
- Alexander Albon
- Logan Sargeant
- Lewis Hamilton
- George Russell
- Nico Hülkenberg
- Kevin Magnussen
- Fernando Alonso
- Lance Stroll
- Valtteri Bottas
- Zhou Guanyu
- Daniel Ricciardo
- Yuki Tsunoda
Races
- Gulf Air Grand Prix of Bahrain 2024
- Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Australia 2024
- MSC Cruises Grand Prix of Japan 2024
- Grand Prix of China 2024
- Miami Grand Prix 2024
- Gran Premio dell'Emilia Romagna 2024
- Grand Prix of Monaco 2024
- Grand Prix du Canada 2024
- Gran Premio de España 2024
- Grand Prix of Austria 2024
- Grand Prix of Great Britain 2024
- Grand Prix of Hungary 2024
- Grand Prix of Belgium 2024
- Heineken Dutch Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Italy 2024
- Grand Prix of Azerbaijan 2024
- Grand Prix of Singapore 2024
- Grand Prix of the United States 2024
- Gran Premio de la Ciudad de Mexico 2024
- Grande Prêmio de São Paulo 2024
- Heineken Silver Las Vegas Grand Prix 2024
- Qatar Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi 2024
About GPFans
GPFans is a multi-platform, multi-language brand dedicated to Formula One coverage. We bring you all the ins and outs of the sport, 24/7, everything from up-to-the-minute news and features to the latest viral stories and clips.We believe that a new generation of exciting, outspoken drivers will make F1 more popular than ever before, and we want to give our users access to as much of their heroes as possible, on and off the track. From Lewis Hamilton to Max Verstappen, Daniel Ricciardo to Sebastian Vettel, we provide in-depth analysis of every every Grand Prix in the season, from Australia to Abu Dhabi.
With Formula One under the new ownership of Liberty Media, how the sport is being covered is evolving, and GPFans will look to be at the heart of this progression into new media, as one of the fastest-growing sites covering the king of motorsports.
Follow us on your favorite social media channel
Corporate & Media
Innovatieweg 20C7007 CD, Doetinchem, Netherlands
+31645516860