Former Red Bull Driver Claims No Driver is Set Up for Success with Max Verstappen
Alex Albon, a previous teammate to Red Bull's Max Verstappen, has shared his thoughts on the Dutch driver's exceptional driving skills. But while he was complimentary of his talent behind the wheel, he admitted that due to his driving style and the RB's setup, his teammates have a hard time.
Verstappen has gone through a number of teammates over the past few years of his career. Gasly, Ricciardo, Albon, and Perez have all played number two to Verstappen's lead, and now the British-Taiwanese driver may have hit the nail on the head as he reveals that the car plays a large factor in this:
"This isn't to throw shade at anyone at Red Bull Racing or Max or anything, honestly, but the car is set up in a unique way that is built around the lead driver, and that's Max," Albon told the press. "And, look, I totally get why.
"I mean, when all is said and done, he might be the greatest driver of all time, but he has a very distinct style of driving, and he likes the car set up a certain way that's hard for a lot of drivers to sync up with.
"Of course, you can tinker and tweak your own car, but just the Red Bull, in general, is suited to Max's style.
"I like a lot of front-end and nose. I've been teammates with George and Charles and I've always had way more nose than them. Basically think front-end sensitivity.
"And when I got into the Red Bull - I mean there was so much nose on the thing that if you blew on the wheel the car would turn. If you play Call of Duty, or a game like that, turn your sensitivity to the highest it will go. That's what it's like to drive that car.
Although Albon's time at Red Bull was shorter than he hoped, he still had the privilege of working alongside Verstappen for 26 races before becoming the team's test and reserve driver for another season.
This allowed the driver to study Verstappen's race craft and pin down his understanding of how his racing style compares to his car's setup. This gives him the credibility to make such educated assumptions.