Red Bull appoints new race engineer for Albon
Ahead of the fourth race of the season, the British Grand Prix, Red Bull has announced that Alexander Albon will work with a new race engineer in a bid to help the currently underperforming Thai driver.
Following his successful debut for Red Bull in the second half of last season, Albon has been unable to match or even get close to his teammate Max Verstappen’s pace so far in 2020. Before getting knocked out by Lewis Hamilton, the London-born Thai driver had a real chance of winning the season-opening Austrian Grand Prix with the help of a safety car period, but he was massively struggling for pace for the majority of the race.
In the Styrian Grand Prix, he finished fourth behind Verstappen, but he was some 30 seconds behind his teammate before the Dutchman made an extra pit stop to take fresh tyre in a bid to set the fastest race lap. In the qualifying session for the Hungarian Grand Prix, Albon failed to get through Q2.
The energy drink-owned outfit has confirmed that Albon will work with a new race engineer from the British Grand Prix that will take place at Silverstone this weekend. Replacing Mike Lugg, Simon Rennie will return to the race track to help Albon get out more of his RB16.
Rennie worked previously as Mark Webber’s and Daniel Ricciardo’s race engineers before taking a non-travelling role inside the team. Lugg will stay with Red Bull, but will continue his work back at the Milton Keynes factory.
„As a Team we are committed to maximizing the performance of the RB16 and our drivers as we continue our championship campaign in this shortened and condensed season,” read the Red Bull Racing statement.
Speaking ahead of the fourth round of the season, the British Grand Prix, Albon said that the season has not delivered the results the team had hoped for before the coronavirus-delayed season kicked off at the Red Bull Ring on July 5.
“Obviously as a Team it hasn’t been an ideal start to the season but aside from the DNF, we’ve been able to score some good points.
“I think with that being said, the car can only improve so I’m feeling positive. We know the areas we need to work on and with Silverstone being a home race close to the factory, that’s good news. I think we can hopefully get a good result there, historically it’s been a pretty good track for the Team, and it’s one I really enjoy driving,” Albon said.
