Red Bull motorsport boss Helmut Marko is baffled by Lewis Hamilton's criticism of Alex Albon, saying the Briton urged him several times last year to promote the latter to the senior bull squad.
At Spa, Hamilton highlighted the strong pairing he formed with teammate Valtteri Bottas, unlike Red Bull which he said has a good car but a line-up where "both drivers are not there like me and Valtteri are there."
"That makes it harder for them," added Hamilton. "Max is sort of there on his own."
The six-time world champion's comments and lessening of Albon's achievements bewildered Marko.
"I don’t quite understand this," the Austrian told Sky Germany at Monza. "Hamilton called us several times last year to tell us to put Albon in the car.
"These statements are not quite comprehensible to me."
Red Bull team boss Christian Horner has repeatedly defended Albon's results this season, and labled as "slight ironic" Hamilton's judgment.
"Well it’s slightly ironic as Lewis is the guy that has taken Alex out of two podium positions, both in Brazil last year and Austria this year," Horner told Sky F1.
"Alex is getting stronger, he is improving. The car has been tricky this year, a trickier car than last year but he is getting to grips with it.
"His performance on race days, his race craft, his progress through the field has always been very strong so if we can give him a better car, as I think we did on Saturday in Spa, then I think he will only benefit from that in the remaining races."
Horner also underscored Albon's ability to quickly overcome a disappointment.
"Alex has really impressed me on his ability to brush himself down and bounce back," said the red Bull chief.
"If he has a bad Saturday he comes back and drives well on a Sunday. He has got the mental resilience and he has got that race craft.
"We have seen him perform very well under huge pressure. I think that is a key characteristic and the rest will come for him.
"He works incredibly hard. He has got a very good understanding of what he is doing, what the car is doing and where he needs to improve."
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