Italian Grand Prix – Red Bull Racing’s Alex Albon says he’s aiming to unlock more single lap pace at Monza, having taken a measured approach to Spa.
With Albon making his step up to Red Bull Racing and simultaneously taking a grid penalty for the Belgian Grand Prix due to using the latest Spec 3 Honda power unit in practice, the focus for his side of the garage was very much on race setup without any serious consideration for qualifying.
Going into this weekend at Monza with the ability to use the Spec 3 without penalty and having successfully completed his debut race with Red Bull, Albon says this weekend will see a much more aggressive approach as he aims to unlock some qualifying speed: “Fifth was a great result but there are definitely things I need to work on and improve so I’ll do my homework ahead of this weekend to try and understand the car more. Monza will really be a continuation of the work we did in Spa and I’ll keep on learning as much as I can.”
“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.”
“Monza obviously isn’t the easiest track for us, but I’ve driven the car now so I think FP1 will be a bit smoother this time around! I’m also more comfortable with everyone in the Team as I didn’t know many people before going to the circuit last week. Everyone is very friendly, there’s a great atmosphere and now it’s just about understanding how everything works. 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!”
