Alexander Albon revealed that he was able to find “little tricks” during a “processional” Singapore Grand Prix, as he gathered further experience with Red Bull.
Albon had never previously driven at the Marina Bay Street Circuit and lacked pace compared to Red Bull team-mate Max Verstappen throughout the course of the weekend.
In a race that was determined by pit strategy and tyre preservation Albon remained at the rear of the lead six-car train throughout, but felt boosted by the gains he was able to make in understanding the RB15.
“I would call it a battle of management as I started P6 and finished P6,” said Albon.
“At times it felt more like a procession than a race for me. It was also a bit frustrating as I spent the whole race stuck behind a Mercedes.
“As I couldn’t overtake on the track I hoped that a pit stop would move me up the field but unfortunately that didn’t happen and then the Safety Car came out a few times.
“In the middle stint I wanted to get past Valtteri [Bottas] but I didn’t have the pace to overtake the Mercedes. I spent the whole race staring at a silver rear wing which wasn’t that fun.
“When he pushed I pushed and when he saved his tyres I saved mine so I felt like I was just going backwards and forwards and it almost felt like he backed me up so Lewis [Hamilton] could get ahead.
“All in all for my first time here it was a positive race. My pace was a lot better so I’m definitely making progress. Even during the race, I was finding little tricks to improve my speed.”
