F1 News

Horner: "Albon and Bottas have the hardest seats in F1"

18 August 2020 at 12:57
Last update 18 August 2020 at 16:05
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  • GPblog.com

Alexander Albon and Valtteri Bottas both have the same equipment at their disposal as their celebrated teammates. Both drivers can clearly see that they are in the shadows and that often is a rather difficult position to be in, especially since Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton perform at such a high level. According to Christian Horner, team boss of Red Bull Racing, the first two drivers are in the most difficult positions within Formula 1.

Difficult seats

In the F1 Nation podcast Horner dives a little deeper into this and says that both drivers, Bottas and Albon, are in the best seats. However, competing against their teammates is difficult and Albon in particular is clearly struggling. "Valtteri has a lot more experience than Alex. I mean going up against Max, arguably the most in-form driver in Formula 1 at the moment, would be tough for any driver."

"Alex is still very young, and young in his experience. He's only five races into his second season so we see the potential in him. We're seeing on Sundays, his racecraft is very strong, and I think it's only a matter of time before it all comes together for him." So once again Horner stands up for Albon who just has to get the time. It remains to be seen if Red Bull will allow him to do so, since Gasly was put aside pretty quickly last year.

The fact remains that both Albon and Bottas are in a difficult position. "But I think they're probably two of the hardest seats in Formula 1, to be either the team mate to Max or indeed to Lewis."

Impressed by Albon

Although the performance of Alexander Albon compared to Max Verstappen is a bit disappointing, Horner has positive words for the driver. "I think he’s impressed the whole team with his racecraft. He is racing incredibly well throughout this season, and I think we just need to get him better in qualifying."

This is partly due to the car and partly due to Albon's insecurity. "Our car is a little tricky to drive at the moment over a single lap, and I think it is a little bit insecure in certain areas, and whereas Max has got the confidence to drive through that, Alex needs the car to be a little bit more settled, and I think that will come as we improve the car and hopefully, therefore, we'll see Alex's Saturday performances continue to improve."

Horner also points out the difference between his two drivers. "He's a very deep-thinking driver, so he's trying to understand the car. He's very sensitive to what the car is doing, whereas Max is far more robust in that respect."