Albon makes ‘big statement’ about Max Verstappen after Red Bull penny drops

With the benefit of “hindsight”, Alex Albon knows he was in a “predicament” at Red Bull that he did not have the experience to escape back then.

Albon was one of several drivers to wilt as Red Bull teammate to Max Verstappen. Acknowledging it as a “big statement”, Albon referred to Verstappen as “arguably the best driver” in F1 history, claiming the Dutchman’s talents are so immense that he can mask flaws with the Red Bull F1 car.

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When Daniel Ricciardo announced his departure from Red Bull, effective at the end of 2018, the challenge was set to find a suitable teammate for their rising star Verstappen.

Pierre Gasly was first up, promoted from junior team Toro Rosso after a season-and-a-bit in Formula 1. By the summer break, he was sent back to the junior team, with Albon moving the other way halfway through his rookie season.

Albon, like Gasly, struggled to impress up against Verstappen, and lost his seat after the 2020 campaign. He has since re-built his career with Williams.

In the time since, Red Bull has struggled to resolve its second seat curse. Sergio Perez went through peaks and troughs after replacing Albon, departing the team on a low at the end of 2024. Liam Lawson lasted just two races, and Yuki Tsunoda is facing doubts over his F1 future having struggled also.

Albon revealed that he is in regular contact with Tsunoda. Albon can relate to what the Japanese racer is going through, admitting that it was only with the benefit of “hindsight” that the penny dropped – he did not have the “experience” to navigate the “predicament” he was in at Red Bull.

“I empathise with it,” said Albon on the BBC’s Chequered Flag podcast, when asked how he looks back now on the struggles of Verstappen’s teammates. “I see it quite clearly.

“I think it’s split in many ways. The time that I was at Red Bull, I joined six months into my Formula 1 career, and I just realised, in hindsight, I was in a predicament when I joined the team at Red Bull, because I had a car that I wasn’t comfortable with, and I didn’t know, I didn’t have the experience to get myself out of it.

“I struggled with it, but my experience level wasn’t to the point, and my maturity as a human being, to understand how to get myself out of that situation.

“I see it now, and I understand the same feelings. I speak with Yuki a lot, and try to help him in any way I can.”

Alas, Tsunoda is the latest driver to go up against Formula 1’s greatest of all time – as per Albon – in Max Verstappen.

There has been plenty of external head-scratching about why Verstappen is able to get so much more out of Red Bull machinery, so often, compared to his teammates. Albon puts it down to Verstappen’s insane talents, which means he can drive around the car’s issues.

Asked to clarify that he coached Tsunoda for a time, Albon replied: “I did. We have a great relationship and I really love Yuki.

“But it’s hard. I think you’ve got, on the other side of the garage, arguably the best driver that’s driven a Formula 1 car.

“I mean, that’s the big statement, I know, but, I do really mean that.

“He can drive a car that’s not comfortable to drive, and I think he can hide a lot of problems, and he’s the one that can clearly drive it.”

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Tsunoda has seven rounds remaining to save his Red Bull career, and perhaps F1 future in general. There has been signs of improvement in recent rounds, which continued in Baku where he finished P6, as Verstappen made it back-to-back wins.

The main threat to Tsunoda’s Red Bull seat is believed to be Isack Hadjar, who has impressed in his rookie season with Racing Bulls.

“I think it’s his best race with us this year,” Mekies said of Tsunoda in Baku. “I think he was strong in qualifying; he was very strong in the race.

“You know the clever guys will get the number right, but he was sometimes two, sometimes three, sometimes four-tenths away from Max. And Max was pulling away from everyone with that pace, so it was very, very serious pace.

“We thought he will have to defend very hard against McLaren and Ferrari to help with Max chasing the win, and he didn’t have to defend.

“He was actually there on merit and, Lando [Norris] stayed behind him and didn’t put much pressure on him. So it’s his best, not only result, but also race pace with us.

“It was really the one thing we wanted that probably was the most important for us to get that sort of clean sample, we said last time. And I think he was listening, and it’s good.”

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