Alex Albon believes his test and reserve driver duties at Red Bull will play a bigger role in securing a possible Formula 1 return than anything he does in the DTM.
Albon was dropped by the high-ranking Red Bull team in the winter because he was unable to keep up with his team-mate Max Verstappen over the course of the 2020 season. Ex-Racing Point driver Sergio Perez was hired as a replacement.
In contrast to his predecessors Daniil Kvyat and Pierre Gasly, who were placed in the then Toro Rosso team after being downgraded by Red Bull Racing, Albon has not yet received a second chance in F1 at today’s AlphaTauri.
Instead, the Thai driver will contest selected laps of the redesigned DTM series in a Ferrari 488 GT3 led by AF Corse in 2021 and at the same time remain in F1 as reserve / test driver for the Red Bull and AlphaTauri teams.
The 25-year-old got his first real impression of a GT3 car on the Spa-Francorchamps racetrack earlier this month, before taking a closer look at the official pre-season test at Hockenheim this week.
While success in the DTM would bolster his profile, Albon insists that the main goal of his program is to remain race-ready and he doesn’t see the series as a means of getting back to Grand Prix racing.
When asked by Motorsport.com how he can use his DTM races to make an F1 comeback in 2022, Albon said: “To be honest, not so much. In my role it’s more about doing my job as well as possible in the championship myself.
“A lot of the Formula 1 material probably depends a little more on how other drivers are doing and whether there are opportunities on that side. But yes, there aren’t that many requirements here.
“A lot depends on how it works with BoP [in the DTM]. As long as I do my job on my side … Of course, my role is also a much bigger role in reserve driver, in simulator tasks and in testing [in getting back to F1]. ”
Also read:
Alongside Timo Glock (Rowe Racing BMW) and Christian Klien, Albon will be one of the three former Grand Prix drivers on the DTM starting grid for 2021. The latter has only signed up for a partial campaign in a McLaren with JP Motorsport.
When asked if he saw sports car racing as a long-term option, Albon said, “Seriously [speaking], not really. I mean it’s good for now It keeps me sharp, it keeps me fit, if you can call it that.
“But I still want to [be in F1]. If F1 didn’t work, some sort of … we’ll see. I definitely wouldn’t say no 100%. “
Albon stated that he had to readjust his braking points for GT3 machines and admitted that he had “oversteered” the Ferrari because of his previous F1 experience.
“GT races in general are different,” said the 25-year-old. “Eau Rogue is definitely not as flat as I imagined. But it’s a learning curve.
“I enjoy it, it’s a different challenge and a completely different driving style. In the beginning, a lot of it was just oversteering because you have the muscle memory, so to speak, of how to take a few corners and how to drive, and it’s almost like starting this process again.
“But at the end of the day it’s a car. It has a steering wheel, it has pedals and you can adapt to it pretty quickly. It feels okay Of course, there is still time to learn how to drive it. But no, I enjoy it. “
Alex Albon, AF Corse, Ferrari 488 GT3 Evo
Photo by: DTM
The post Reserve tariffs play a bigger role in the F1 return than the DTM first appeared on monter-une-startup.
