Following an impressive qualifying time where he matched his teammate Max Verstappen, Alex Albon went on to finish fourth. His performance was the best Grand Prix finish thus far.

The driver was enthusiastic about the result, but Albon is not resting on his laurels, so he becomes a significant threat to those in front.

From the qualifying races, it was the second time in the five since he joined the team that Verstappen and Albon both were able to qualify according to merit with no engine penalties waiting for either of the drivers.

The performance of Albon on the Suzuka circuit showed a significant improvement from the Singapore Grand Prix, where he was just a second and a half behind Verstappen.

Interestingly, the rookie is not entirely happy with his race performance. He claimed that he had a lot of wheel spin and lost two positions, and that dictated the race considering he spent most of it trying to get past both of the McLaren drivers.

Albon stated they got past during the pit stops. From there, it was a matter of managing the state of tires. Even though Albon may have been a bit critical after the race, he was convinced that his outing with Red Bull this time was the best thus far.

He implied this weekend has made him feel like he was at his best with the team from the first practice session because he felt comfortable with the team and had a lot of confidence which is crucial for the Japanese track.

His solid hail of 12 points from the Japanese Grand Prix now places him within touching distance of the McLaren team, Carlos Sainz and Pierre Gasly, as they all fight for the top six on the driver’s standings.

It is worth noting his performance this time was aided by the fact his teammate, Verstappen, had the misfortune of being derailed from the race.

An aggressive Charles LeClerc drove into the side of Verstappen’s car during the second turn, inflicting severe damage.

Verstappen had to leave the track, considering there was nothing more he could do. LeClerc went on to try and redeem himself and eventually came in seventh place.

Ferrari received a fine of 25,000 euros for the incident, and LeClerc got a two-time penalty for the crash and for creating dangerous conditions on the track. The rest of the grid had to deal with the debris of his front wing for the race.