Before becoming an important part of the structure at Williams, Alex Albon served as a driver for Red Bull Racing with Max Verstappen. Having driven alongside the Dutchman for a couple of seasons, Albon is one of the few drivers on the current grid who knows what goes on behind the curtains in Milton Keynes. While most people claim Red Bull builds their cars around Verstappen’s preferences, Albon revealed in an interview with the YouTube channel, ‘High Performance,’ that the Dutchman’s success has more to do with the way he drives a car rather than the way the team builds it.
“The car is what it is. He [Verstappen] is very quick. So, what ends up happening is he has a quite unique driving style, actually.”, stated Albon.
Albon explained he likes a smoother driving style with a sharp and direct front end of the car. He added Verstappen drives an even sharper car, giving him the edge over the rest of the field.
The sharpness of the car often makes life on the tracks difficult for the rest of the drivers, as they have to maneuver their cars based on how sharp Verstappen’s Red Bull car is, leading to tensions on and off the track.
While Albon was certainly slower than Verstappen in a Red Bull car, he believes he was never as slow as Sergio Perez often was in the 2023 season. However, Perez had a much different car at his expense, further pointing out the lack of equal ground to do a fair analysis of the two drivers.
️“It is very different”⁰⁰
Alex Albon finished 10th at the end of his first day for Red Bull but within 0.4s of Max Verstappen⏱ pic.twitter.com/EXTOfEYXpR— Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1) August 30, 2019
Many believe Verstappen’s dominance of 2023 came because of an overpowered RB19, but it may only have been a small part of the puzzle. The Dutchman’s incredible driving skills played a much bigger role in allowing him to control the car well and register a record-breaking season.
Max Verstappen adopted a Michael Schumacher-like driving style in 2023
Owing largely to his father’s parenting style, Verstappen is often seen as one of the most aggressive drivers on the grid despite the presence of the likes of Fernando Alonso.
Given the same, former motorsports racing driver Scott Mansell pointed out how the Dutchman reinvented the aggressive driving style once practiced by the legendary Michael Schumacher. The 7-time world champion preferred a car with a pointy front end, with aero balance, grip, and weight distribution favoring the front axle.
This setup would lead to oversteering of the car, which Schumacher loved, as it gave him the option to brake late and apply throttle earlier than the others. In 2023, Verstappen opted for a similar setup, allowing him to take a wider V-shaped racing line than others and always having the room to throttle his way past the others.
While the setup sounds risky, it worked wonders for Verstappen throughout the season, who eventually secured his third-consecutive drivers’ championship with a margin of 290 points over second-placed Perez.
