Albon paying no attention to media speculation

Jamie Woodhouse
Alexander Albon

Alex Albon has no interest in media talk about his Red Bull future since it will only distract him from his job.

Criticism of the Thai driver had been building throughout the season thanks to a series of underwhelming performances where Albon failed to come close to the speed shown by team-mate Max Verstappen either over one lap or on race days.

And while there was still a sizeable gap in performance between the pair in qualifying for the Tuscan Grand Prix, Albon was able to put his RB16 P4 on the grid, sharing the second row with Verstappen.

And then come race day with Verstappen suffering a second DNF in as many races, Albon was able to overcome Red Bull’s struggles at launches off the line and pass Daniel Ricciardo for P3, securing his first podium finish in Formula 1.

After Pierre Gasly won the Italian Grand Prix the calls for him to get another chance at Red Bull in Albon’s place grew louder, but Albon stays away from all of that, seeing such speculation as only a distraction.

“I don’t look at the media,” he said, as quoted by Autosport.com.

“I know there’s always going to be talk about it. It’s a hot topic for you guys. You kind of just move on from it.

“My trust and my confidence comes from speaking to Christian or whoever, or Dr Marko personally.

“And I feel a lot of support from both of them, from this whole team as well.

“Certainly, I’m relaxed. I know I need to improve, I want to improve and I’m keen and I’m motivated to do that.

“So with all the support from the guys around me, I’m happy with where I am in the team, and it’s more you could say the media that creates the noise.”

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Asked why he turns a blind eye to the opinions of the media, Albon replied: “It’s just one of those things. It’s like, what’s the point of looking at your phone if it’s negative, you know?

“There’s not really any point. I’d rather use that time to have dinner, go on Netflix, or whatever.

“It’s obviously nice to have good comments, but at the same time you just have to realise it’s the name of the game.

“And there’s always going to be talk, there’s always going to be comments.

“And you could definitely say this year there’s more of that kind of thing going on.

“At the end of the day, I know what matters is my performance. That’s what I’m focused on. I’m not focused on the other stuff.”

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