Albon: "The Red Bull is completely different compared to winter testing"

Most drivers now know the circuit in Barcelona like the back of their hand. After all, there will be extensive testing on the circuit prior to the season. But does that only make a difference during the race weekend? Not exactly for Alexander Albon, who this season for the first time experienced the winter test at Red Bull Racing. 

"Winter testing hasn’t made much of a difference on the circuit. Silverstone was a lot nicer with the double header, rather than winter testing to now. Because really, the car is completely different with upgrades and everything that has come since Barcelona. It’s a different car, so it hasn’t made much of a difference. I’ve been chipping away from FP1 to qualification," the British Thai told several media, including GPblog.com, after qualifying.

Overtaking at the last minute

Qualifying was not without problems either. To start their flying lap before the clock hit zero, some drivers had to overtake the competition. "It kinda reminds me of Monza and Hungary. Obviously everyone slows down at the end, because you want to have five seconds between the car in front of you, when you start your lap. But it creates a kind of whirlpool effect, where you don’t want to be the first car, because there is this kind of circulation of air going through. So you always gain a tenth or two tenths down straights, because you are in that stream of air."

"On the other hand you also don’t wait to get stuck in traffic. I was watching the stopping at the end, it was crazy. I didn’t want to do the same thing as in Hungary. If it came to it, I was going to overtake these cars in front. We have this gentleman’s agreement, where you don’t overtake each other just before we start a lap, so I wanted to do it early. Some guys were overtaking in the last corner, which is a bit sketchy," continued the driver of Red Bull Racing.

According to Albon, the pushing and pulling during qualifying is also due to FIA rules and Pirelli tyres. "We have all these rules regarding tire blankets and with the way these tires are, we have to drive so slowly on an outlap. It creates issues. If we have a more forgiving tire, where you don’t have to worry about it and just push, you wouldn’t have these issues," concluded the Briton.