Albon Unsure Whether Sargeant Helps His Rate Of Improvement

Saturday, 16 March 2024 at 00:30

During his most recent appearance on the Beyond The Grid Podcast, Alex Albon answered whether more pressure from his teammate would help him improve faster.

Alex Albon hasn't exactly been under pressure from his teammate for quite a while. In 2023, he outperformed his rookie teammate Logan Sargeant in every single one of the qualifying sessions.

He has consistently shown better speed over one lap as well as the overall race pace. Asked whether he believes more pressure from his teammate would help him with his rate of improvement, Albon said:

Tricky question. Different drivers respond very differently so I think some drivers need that kind of prod, other drivers actually are the total opposite."

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"If they can be in their happy space, that's where they perform the best. For me, it's somewhere in the middle."

In 2023, Lando Norris got a new teammate, Oscar Piatri, who put more pressure on his performances, and many experts agreed it has benefited the 24-year-old overall.

However, more pressure doesn't necessarily work better for every F1 driver. Some examples of drivers who didn't seem to deal well with pressure from their teammates in 2023 are Sergio Perez in Red Bull, Lance Stroll in Aston Martin, and Sargeant in Williams.

Albon also found himself under immense pressure during his first years in F1 when he was quickly moved to Red Bull to drive alongside Max Verstappen.

While he might have learned a lot during those one-and-a-half seasons, it didn't seem like he could reach the right mindset. The 27-year-old added:

"What I've learnt is the more I can just focus and be in the present and not worry about the other side and that kind of thing, that's how I perform the best. But at the same time, I love that fight, I enjoy the competition. So, it's somewhere in between."