Verstappen theory REJECTED by Albon following Red Bull comments

Monday 10 April 2023 17:40

Former Red Bull man Alex Albon has hit back at the idea that the team design their car around what Max Verstappen wants, insisting that previous comments he made about the reigning world champion were misinterpreted.

Having written in a Players’ Tribune piece that the team’s car is ‘set up in a unique way that is built around the lead driver,’ some took the current Williams driver’s words as being critical of the setup at Red Bull, and a tacit admission that the team favoured Verstappen at the detriment of their other drivers.

However, Albon has clarified that he meant that Verstappen was more capable of dealing with the cars that Red Bull put together, suggesting that the Dutchman simply prefers a slightly different setup than him.

“I think people get very confused with designing a car around a driver and a driver who’s very very quick and wants a car a certain way,” Albon told the Daily Express.

Maybe the best ever

“Of course, you’re going to listen to the driver who’s getting the performance in and getting a good job because the potential is more,” continued Albon.

“I’m not going to call myself guilty for it but people misinterpret my words where they think what I’m trying to say is the car is built around him.

“No, it’s the fact that he can deal with it and he drives it in a certain way. You’ve got to try and find what he has because at the end of the day he’s making it work. Honestly, that’s the difference.”

Albon’s original comments were far from negative about Verstappen in context, going out of his way to compliment the 25-year-old and explaining why the Red Bull was a challenge to drive (‘there was so much nose on the thing that if you blew on the wheel the car would turn’).

“I mean, when all is said and done, he might be the greatest driver of all time,” wrote Albon. “But he has a very distinct style of driving, and he likes the car set up a certain way that’s hard for a lot of drivers to sync up with. Of course, you can tinker and tweak your own car, but just the Red Bull in general is suited to Max’s style.”

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