Verstappen vs Albon: Is the gap widening further?
As since the start of the season, Max Verstappen is indeed the only one able to compete against the Mercedes armada. And once again in Russia, the comparison with his teammate Alex Albon was no exception to the rule.
A driver starting from the front row and slotting in between the two Mercedes. The other starting from 15th place and struggling to earn the single point for tenth place.
As very often (not to say always) since Daniel Ricciardo’s departure from Renault, Red Bull experienced a mixed weekend with their star driver at the top and their number 2 driver falling short.
It was thought that the podium achieved through sheer effort at Mugello by Alex Albon could have freed the Thai driver. But 15 days later, the return to reality is undeniable.
Albon far from Verstappen in Russia
Albon qualified P10 in Sochi, one place behind Pierre Gasly and his AlphaTauri, Red Bull’s sister team, marking the first hiccup. As if that wasn’t enough, the Thai driver was not favored by the mechanics as a gearbox change forced him to start from 15th place.
Starting on hard tires in the race, Albon had the right strategy. The incidents at the start forced him to stop at the end of the first lap to switch to mediums.
Albon gradually closed in on the points, battling throughout with his friend Lando Norris (McLaren), but was once again beaten by Gasly and his AlphaTauri, who delivered a solid race.
« It was a lot of work for one point and it wasn’t an easy race. We struggled at the beginning to overtake and make our way through the field on the hard tire, so we lost a lot of time », said Albon.
« When we switched to mediums, it was a little better and we did everything we could, but it was difficult. All in all, a frustrating race. »
Albon still has the confidence of Christian Horner
The former DAMS driver in Formula 2 still retains the trust of his boss, Christian Horner, who finds some mitigating circumstances for him.
« I think Alex is particularly sensitive to some of the car’s characteristics », he said. « He struggles with that and on this type of track with short turns and large braking zones, it was accentuated ».
Horner, however, believes that Albon will be more competitive for the remainder of the calendar and identifies Sochi as one of the most challenging Grand Prix of the year for his driver.
« It was much better in the second half of the race, but obviously, this weekend was difficult for him. It’s a shame after the podium two weeks ago, but this Grand Prix was certainly one of the toughest of the year for him. »
For his part, Max Verstappen did what Max Verstappen does! The Dutch driver, who is celebrating his 23rd birthday this September 30th, delivered a solid qualifying and race, taking advantage of Lewis Hamilton’s misfortunes to wedge himself between the Mercedes drivers on the podium.
Elected once again as Driver of the Day by F1 observers, Verstappen could not have done better, which his boss did not fail to acknowledge.
« Mercedes had a faster car than us this weekend », said Horner. « Obviously, we benefited from Lewis’s penalty, but I think Max extracted maximum performance from the car throughout the weekend. It’s our best result here in 6 years! I can only be satisfied with Max’s driving. »
Note that Red Bull executed the fastest pit stop of the season on Verstappen’s car in 1.86 seconds, very close to their world record in Brazil last year!
The situation of Verstappen and Albon in the drivers’ standings
In the drivers’ championship, Max Verstappen (128 pts) solidly in 3rd, has double the points of his teammate Albon (64 pts), 5th, fighting for 4th place with Lando Norris (4th, 65 pts) and Daniel Ricciardo (6th, 63 pts) despite being on much inferior machinery compared to the Red Bull.
Even with the confidence of his team, the Thai must pick up the pace by the end of the season. His contract still hasn’t been renewed for 2021!
