General
Analysts harsh on Albon: "Verstappen is alone in a fight with Mercedes"
Although Alexander Albon finished fourth during the Steiermark GP, his top three deficit was significant. So big that he had to defend himself against an emerging Sergio Perez in the closing stages of the race. Analysts are therefore strict with the Red Bull driver afterwards.
"He was basically just too slow," said Ralf Schumacher in his commentary for Sky Deutschland. "It is structurally about half a second, which can be even more in the race," with which he compares the speed of Albon with teammate Verstappen.
Albon is not a good number two yet
For Red Bull Racing, a slow second driver can cost a world championship in the long run, according to Schumacher. He is supported by another analyst on German television, Marc Surer. “Albon is number two on the team, but he's too slow to really help Verstappen. Max is on his own in the fight with Mercedes."
Team boss Christian Horner also said after the race that it would have been better for the strategy if they had two cars that could compete at the front. On this matter, Verstappen says the following to De Telegraaf: “Even if Alex had been closer, it probably wouldn't have mattered. It would have been nicer for himself."