Albon gets first taste of F1 with Toro Rosso shakedown

Phillip van Osten 13/02/2019 at 13:26

Formula 1 rookie Alexander Albon got his first run in a Grand Prix car today at Misano where Scuderia Toro Rosso shook down its 2019-spec STR14.

The Faenza-base squad revealed its new Honda-powered charger on Monday and used one of its two allocated filming days to check its cars systems before the team haeds to Barcelona for pre-season testing.

While Albon has conducted extensive testing in Toro Rosso's simulator, the British-Thai racer had yet to get behind the wheel of an F1 car.

Albon: Formula E test 'useful' for entry into F1

The 22-year-old recently admitted that he was facing a steep learning curve in F1, both in terms of performance relative to Formula 2 in which he raced last year, and in terms of working environments.

"I’ll get four days of testing in Barcelona before Melbourne so we don’t have a lot of driving," said Albon.

“The main focus is to be comfortable in the car and get up to speed as quickly as possible.

“In terms of my personal preparation, I’ll try not to put too much pressure on myself and give it everything I have from day one.

“It’s my opportunity this year to show everyone what I’ve got.”

Toro Rosso released a short clip on Twitter of Daniil Kvyat putting in his first laps onboard STR14.