"Max is on the limit" - Alex Albon says adopting Max Verstappen's driving style is 'not easy for the teammate'

Williams driver Alex Albon has provided an insight into his former Red Bull Racing teammate Max Verstappen's driving style. He explained why the Dutchman's teammates struggle driving with him.

In a left-field comparison, Albon said that Verstappen's driving style is similar to Marc Marquez of MotoGP. The Spanish rider is a multiple-time world champion, but his teammates have struggled immensely to ride the bike the way he does.

As a result, there is a huge gulf in his performance and his teammates'. However, as he's winning and delivering, the team does not see the need to change, just like Verstappen's Formula 1 team Red Bull.

On the Formula 1 podcast ‘Beyond the Grid’, Albon said about the Dutchman:

"Let's take MotoGP, Marc Marquez, he has a very special driving style; it works for him, and he's fast with it, but it's not always easy to acquire this driving style. As long as the guy is delivering, the team has no reason to move on to anything else. When you look at the data, it's not like, 'Wow, that and that and that!' Of course, Max is on the limit. And he likes a car that's stuck to the nose. You know that. He wants to have fun. That's not easy for his teammate."

The Williams driver continued:

"'Checo' noticed that last year too. And this year too, The new rules, the new cars have shifted the balance a bit. 'Checo' is doing a fantastic job, I think. But Max is enormously talented and wants to have the car in a certain way. And that makes it difficult for the others."

---

Max Verstappen is not arrogant - Alex Albon

Max Verstappen is not an overly media-savvy personality. He's notorious for being too direct in his opinions and sometimes even comes across as arrogant. Albon, though, clarified that that this is not the case at all, saying:

"Verstappen is just very straightforward. One of the most direct, to be precise. He has a high level of self-confidence - logical when you're world champion. He had that before."

Albon continued:

"To be honest, he doesn't have to be political at all. He can let his actions on the track speak for himself. People sometimes see him as arrogant. But I don't think he's that at all. He's very determined, very hungry, knows what he can do. But he's not arrogant."

Albon spent the 2020 F1 season as Max Verstappen's teammate, where he found it very difficult to adapt to the car and match the Dutch driver. As a result, Albon was replaced by Sergio Perez as Verstappen's teammate at the end of the season.