Alex Albon shares what Ferrari and Red Bull are doing in testing that ‘surprised’ him

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Williams driver Alex Albon has admitted that Ferrari and Red Bull aren’t struggling with one problem in Bahrain that the rest of the grid are dealing with.

After two days of pre-season testing, all ten teams will feel more comfortable with their 2024 cars.

Alex Albon was speaking on commentary for Sky Sports F1 and gave some insight into how he sees two of the fastest teams in the paddock.

Albon praises Ferrari and Red Bull in Bahrain testing

With just three days of testing to get ready for the longest season in Formula 1 history, teams are cramming in as many laps as possible to collect as much data as possible.

Every team has made big changes to their cars, including Red Bull despite how impressive the RB19 was last season.

They could have carried on in the same vein in 2024, but Adrian Newey has developed a new design that on the first day of testing blew the rest of the field away.

The lap times on Wednesday can’t be taken too seriously and Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz topped the time sheets for much of day two.

And Alex Albon has noticed that Red Bull and Ferrari are both dealing with one aspect of the Bahrain circuit that causing issues for the rest of the grid.

That could just be a coincidence, but it also suggests that the aerodynamics of their car could be a level above their rivals.

To be included in the same breath as Red Bull will encourage Ferrari too and they’ll hope that puts them in good stead for 2024.

Albon hails front-running cars in 2024 testing

As he entered the commentary box, Carlos Sainz was on a hot lap and reporter Rachel Brookes asked: “What did you make of the end of that lap [from Carlos Sainz] that you saw?”

Albon replied: “It’s good, it’s a nice lap. I’m surprised, it seems like the Red Bulls and the Ferraris are not really affected by wind on that straight.

“They just seem to turn when they want to turn and have a bit of grip where everyone else is struggling.

“But yeah it’s a very nice lap I have to say.”

Yuki Tsunoda was heard on the radio on Thursday morning talking about how gusty it was, while Logan Sargeant seemed to be affected by the wind direction on his long run.

Only Ferrari and Red Bull will know exactly how much of a difference the wind has made to their cars but Albon is certainly impressed.

Albon’s time on circuit in Bahrain didn’t go to plan on day one after stopping on track in the morning.

He hasn’t been behind the wheel of the FW46 since but gets the full day on Friday to learn as much as he can before next weekend’s race.