5:30 Anthony Davidson analyses George Russell and Alexander Albon's performances after Friday practice ahead of the Hungarian GP.
“For example, he’d never driven an F1 car in the wet before Germany but achieved a strong result on a track which has always been very slippery in such conditions.
“You’ve got to have your mind on the job in every second of every lap, and he proved he could do that.”
The comparison between his Toro Rosso team-mate, the returning Daniil Kvyat, was always going to be an intriguing one. That’s particularly once it became clear that the Russian was back in F1 after his year out of the limelight in a back-up role at Ferrari as a more rounded, but still fast, driver.
“Kvyat got that podium in Germany and scored more points up to Hungary, but would you have expected that? Probably you would. But were they close in performance? You bet they were,” says Herbert.
“Alex has proved a lot and, with Pierre in the situation he was in, Red Bull clearly felt there was an opportunity to give him a shot.”
How will Albon shape up against Verstappen?
Verstappen’s consistent and relentless form over the past 12 months – 21 top-five race finishes since Spa last year – sets the highest of bars for Albon to try and match.
But, while at times under the radar, the 23-year-old has too shown he can deliver reliably in his first half-season of F1.
“We all know what Max can do consistently in the car, but Alex has had a pretty solid season in the Toro Rosso. He was always there or thereabouts against Kvyat,” says Herbert.
“He hasn’t had one good race and then one where you were left wondering ‘where’s he gone?’ He has been very consistent and that may pay dividends at Red Bull.”
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Sourse: skysports.com
