After 118 of not being in a cockpit of a Formula 1 car, Red Bull Racing’s Alexander Albon quickly found his groove in the 100km official filming day for the team at Silverstone.
With the season set to get underway on July 5th at the team’s home track, the Red Bull Ring, the team took the RB16 to Silverstone to make use of the final of its two allocated filming days to give the car, and drivers, a bit of a shakedown.
All of the team’s personnel were required to adhere to the new COVID-19 safety protocols that Formula One will adopt with personnel all wearing face masks and PPE. It will be interesting to see how they cope with this as the masks were all worn under their standard fire suits, helmets, etc
The team also debuted their #WeRaceAsOne messaging which is a united campaign between F1 teams, stakeholders and the wider community tackling issues facing the sport and society especially since the increase of awareness around systemic racism.
As for the on-track activity, Albon, 24, revealed: “It was good to be back in the car and shake off the dust. I haven’t been in an F1 car for three months but, after five or six laps, I was right back into it. All that work in the gym doesn’t really matter until you see it on track. It’s a small track, a busy track and it was really hot. So it’s been a good way to see where I’m at with fitness and I’m happy with it. Overall it was a good opportunity to get back in touch with everything and to get back into that racing mindset.”
Team Principal Christian Horner said: “We’ve been at Silverstone to get ourselves back up to speed – practicing garage protocols and pitstop procedures with the new COVID-19 precautions in place. By the time we get to Austria, these procedures will be the new normal and today ensures that everybody knows what’s expected of them. We also have the #WeRaceAsOne messaging on the car for the first time. It is hugely positive that all the teams are involved and behind this important initiative led by Formula 1 and everyone at Aston Martin Red Bull Racing is fully behind it.”
PHOTO CREDIT: Alexander Albon of Thailand driving the (23) Aston Martin Red Bull Racing RB16 on track during the Red Bull Racing RB16 Filming Day at Silverstone Circuit on June 25, 2020 in Northampton, England. (Photo by Clive Mason/Getty Images)