Alexander Albon believes it is possible for him to get the better of Max Verstappen across the 2020 season, and says his development at Red Bull will be accelerated by driving alongside the Dutchman.
Albon was elevated to the senior team from Toro Rosso just 12 races into his F1 career as amid Pierre Gasly's struggles to match Verstappen.
The Thai driver secured top-six finishes in all bar one of his nine races with Red Bull. He sole exception came in Brazil when Lewis Hamilton punted him out of a podium spot on the penultimate lap.
Asked if he can take the next step and start to challenge Verstappen more often, Albon saw no reason why not.
He said: "Everything's possible. There's never a time when I've gone, 'Oh Jesus, well, I'm going home!'
"Of course, he's very quick. And it is one of them things, it's normal. When I am good in a corner, I know I'm quick in the corner, and it will generally be two hundredths, three hundredths quicker than him.
"That's the kind of things that you're dealing with. But nothing's impossible.
"It's just him being comfortable with the car. He's spent a lot of years with the team and he knows how to extract all that time, whereas for me it's still a bit of a learning process.
"I think everyone knows he's quick, everyone knows who he is, and it's no different for me.
"I appreciate how quick he is and it's good for me. I feel like, 'What better way to learn and to prepare myself than against pretty much one of, if not the fastest driver, on the grid?'
"I think it's a good way to speed up the learning process! I see that as a positive, I see it as a good thing and a goal to chase and to close the gap."
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