Alexander Albon set the 2nd fastest time of Formula 1 Pre-Season testing so far, covering a total of 1,1247km in the STR14 during the opening week at the Circuit de Catalunya.

Today was Alex's second day of running in the new STR14 Toro Rosso Formula 1 Car, where the Thai driver further acclimatised himself with life in F1 and to his new machinery. The Thai driver topped the time sheets during the morning session on Day 4, with a 1:17.637 laptime to claim the top spot whilst running the C5 Pirelli Tyres.

Alex went on to complete 136 laps over the course of the day, ending the week with the 2nd fastest time of the test and his first week testing Formula 1 machinery.

Scuderia Toro Rosso completed a total of 482 laps between Alex (268 laps) and teammate Danil Kvyat (214 laps) over the four days of testing so far.
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Alexander Albon (Car 23):

"My first two days of F1 testing completed and I really enjoyed it! We had a good day today topping the timesheets in the morning session, I know it's still early days and we don't know what everyone else is doing but it's a good sign for the future.

The first day began with a tricky start, but the team made me feel comfortable after that and we were able to get on with the programme.
I think everything is going to plan quite well, we've hit our mileage target which is important for the guys back at the factory, and of course at the same time, I'm still learning the car.

The grip is so high that it took a while for my head to adjust to it, it's been a big learning curve! I'm still not fully in the rhythm yet but I think after next week I'll be there and ready to race."

Jody Egginton (Deputy Technical Director):

"For the final day of pre-season testing Alex was back behind the wheel and continued the work which Dany had put in during Day 3. After completion of a block of aero tests early on he moved into a general testing programme, carrying out a number of setup related test items.

We then moved on to a series of new tyre runs, in order to provide Alex with a further opportunity to gain experience of how to best utilise the new tyre over a short run. This culminated in a solid performance on both the C4 and C5 compounds, which is encouraging at this point in the test programme.

In the afternoon, similar to Dany on Day 3, Alex conducted a number of longer stints putting in solid times on both compounds, whilst also gaining experience of managing the tyres over extended running. Again, today we have seen Alex move along the learning curve impressively, managing both quick and consistent lap times whilst also developing the car setup to his liking together with his engineers.

There is much more work to do in next week's test, but we look forward to making further progress with the STR14."

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Press Release Content: Scuderia Toro Rosso
Media Content: Red Bull Content Pool