Alex Albon recently spoke about the role he played on the factory simulator in his bid to help Max Verstappen win the World Title.
Albon was without a seat for the 2021 F1 season. After a difficult 2020, he was replaced by Sergio Perez at Red Bull and spent the year acting as a test and reserve driver for the Milton-Keynes based team.
2021 was a great year for Red Bull. Max Verstappen went on to beat Lewis Hamilton for the Drivers’ Championship, ending the latter’s dominance in the sport. On the other hand, Red Bull managed to push Mercedes all the way in the Constructors’ Championship, something which no team had been able to do in the turbo-hybrid era.
Albon feels that aerodynamic regulation tweaks before the season started helped Red Bull to an extent. However, he cited the amount of work the people at the factory put in as the main reason behind their success.
“We spent a lot of time in the simulator last winter to make our car more stable than 2020’s. And to address the main weaknesses.” said Albon in an interview with Motorsport.com.
“In 2020 the car was still quite tricky, especially because of the fickle rear. Of course, the rules for the adapted floor helped us. But at the same time we really maximized our own package.”
Alex Albon played a huge role in the 2021 Red Bull car’s development
The plan for Albon last year was to help his team develop a strong car for 2022. However, as the season progressed, there were alterations in the plan, and he had to spend hours focusing on improving the RB16.
Verstappen and Hamilton were engaged in a fierce title battle, and it was up to Albon and the Red Bull staff at the factory to help the Dutchman as much as possible.
“As the title race got more exciting, we refocused our work on this year’s car.” said the 25-year-old. “In any case, we did more for the races in Jeddah and Abu Dhabi than we would in the simulator for a normal race weekend. Fortunately, that worked out very well.”
Albon’s happiness at Verstappen’s victory in Abu Dhabi could be seen immediately after the final lap. The Brit took over the team radio and was the first person to congratulate max following his win.
“This title feels great, also for me.” the now Williams driver added. “The guys worked so incredibly hard. Not just me but everyone in the factory. And yes, it just feels great to be rewarded for that.”
“Even though I only contributed 0.1 per cent to the end result. It was not in vain and this success gives me great satisfaction.” he concluded.
Also read: Sergio Perez reveals he was never concerned about losing his F1 seat after 2021 season
