Tsunoda gets help from Albon: "That's very positive for Yuki"
F1 News
- GPblog.com
Alexander Albon had to sit out 2021 on the sidelines after being replaced by Sergio Perez at Red Bull Racing. Despite no longer driving for Red Bull or Alpha Tauri, the Thai driver is still very valuable to the team. For example, he is helping Yuki Tsunoda in the last races of this year with valuable advice.
Albon coaches Tsunoda in first year
Albon made the switch from Formula 1 to the DTM at the end of 2020. He would also be the regular reserve driver for Red Bull and Alpha Tauri. Now that the DTM season is over, Albon has more time to spend with Red Bull's Formula One teams. Now Albon functions as a sort of personal coach to rookie Tsunoda.
AlphaTauri team boss Franz Tost is delighted with Albon's new role. "Alex comes to Yuki, talks to him, explains the circuit and answers all the questions Yuki asks him," explained Tost according to the Dutch branch of Motorsport.com.
"Those are really conversations between two drivers. That's very positive for Yuki, because he picks up a lot from Alex. It has turned out to be very positive."
Albon's help bears fruit
According to Tost Tsunoda is already showing some improvement and is getting better results. In the USA he had a dual with Lewis Hamilton who he managed to keep behind him for several laps. In the end the Japanese racer finished in ninth position.
"Alex is part of the Red Bull family, but he didn't have many free weekends because of DTM. We've made sure he supports Yuki when he does get to the track, and we've encouraged Yuki to ask questions so he can understand everything. So far it's working really well," concluded Tost.