Alexander Albon says he initially found the prospect of stepping up to Red Bull mid-season “daunting”, but quickly settled down, following confirmation of his 2020 seat.
Albon graduated to Formula 1 with Toro Rosso for 2019 but was drafted in to join Max Verstappen from the Belgian Grand Prix onwards, in place of the struggling Pierre Gasly.
Albon has secured a top six finish at each race, peaking with fourth in Japan, and earlier this week Red Bull confirmed Albon will stay at the senior team into 2020.
“It’s crazy really, I say [that] a lot, but I truly mean it when I say it,” said Albon.
“To get the call up originally after Hungary was quite a daunting prospect really, but I felt like I could do something, but to be honest the races that I’ve had I’ve been pretty happy with.
“Of course to get that final call to tell me I’m staying for next year feels really good, really good.”
Albon added that adapting to Red Bull was an easier prospect than stepping up to Toro Rosso from Formula 2, but still had questions in his mind prior to the Belgian Grand Prix.
“[I was thinking] ‘how am I going to do, how am I going to fare against the big boys’ and all that kind of thing.
“And it was the same kind of thought process before the season even started.
“But because I already went through it [pre-season], it felt a lot more comfortable the second time, in Spa, let’s say.
“It’s [the] kind of that thing, it’s always a lot of thinking, but once you step in the car, put the helmet on it all goes away and you focus on your driving and all that [external] stuff dissipates.”
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