Albon no fan of Monza

Alexander Albon admits that Monza is not a track he relishes driving as he looks to continue his impressive start to life with Red Bull at the Italian Grand Prix.

The 'Temple of Speed' is not a track that has suited Red Bull in recent years, indeed the team has not taken to the Monza podium in the V6 Hybrid era, with Sebastian Vettel's victory in 2013 representing their last trip to the rostrum.

Albon was on the Monza podium in last year's Formula 2 feature race, and will have unimpeded use of Honda's upgraded engine this week.

Having made his Red Bull debut and secured fifth in Belgium last weekend, the Thai driver admits Monza is not the best track to back up at.

Albon said: "I'm guessing, and hoping, there will be a lot less noise and attention on Thursday so that it's a bit quieter for me!

"As for the track, it's actually not one that I love driving-wise. There's just something about it but I still managed to fight for third there in F2 last year and I was a tenth off pole, so it's not a disaster!"

Albon was hamstrung by a grid penalty in Belgium, which necessitated a need to focus on race pace, and the Thai driver is looking forward to pushing the limits of his RB15 at Monza.

"Monza will really be a continuation of the work we did in Spa and I'll keep on learning as much as I can," he said.

"I think it's a good thing Spa and Monza are back-to-back races as after the race on Sunday, I jump in the sim on Wednesday and keep everything fresh in my mind ahead of the weekend. That way I don't need time to re-understand the car.

"I think on my side we're going to focus more on qualifying runs which is fun, whereas in Spa we looked more at race runs because of the penalty."

Related

Brazilian Grand Prix

F1 star in major crash as Interlagos sees FIFTH red flag

• November 3, 2024 13:09

F1 Social

Ricciardo crash sees SHOCK driver lead F1 DNF table

• October 5, 2024 12:58