Alexander Albon has “surprised” Toro Rosso with his technical feedb﷽ack and quick transition into Formula 1 after just two rounds of the 2019 season, according to team princip✅al Franz Tost. 

After finishing third in the 2018 Formula 2 Championship, the British-born Thai driver earned a late call up to make his grand prix debut this season in place of the ousted Brendon Hartley and faced an 🌃instant tough task, h🧸aving never turned a wheel in F1 machinery prior to this year. 

But Albon immediately impressed to out-qualify teammate Daniil Kvyat on debut at the 🔜Melbourne season-opener on his way to a solid 14th, before once again beating the Russian to claim the first poi𓆏nts of his F1 career with a ninth-place finish in Bahrain. 

“Alex is coming from Formula 2 - he won four races last year, showed a really goo🏅d performance and from the first test onwards I was really happy to have him in the 𝓀team,” Tost said. 

“He surprised all of us by a fanta⛄stic performance and also by really good technical feedback. He has also a good overview of how to treat the tyres. 

“I must say that Toro Rosso has a very, very strong driver line-up this year and I’m c🔜onvinced that both of them will have a lot of success in the future.” 

Albon felt a better result was possible at the se🍸cond round of the season and ♎has targeted improved qualifying performances after failing to make it into Q3 so far in 2019. 

“I enjoyed the race because it was busy and I le🐭arned a lot,”🥃 Albon explained. 

"We started🌳 battling and in Melbourne there wasn’t a lot of that. At least in Bahrain you are able to fight, so I can start to understand what happens when you follow other people and get close and everytꦛhing like that. 

“I really do think there was𒁃 more in it, it’s a bit of a shame the start, because I think with clean air we could have done a lot better. 

“Still, I’m happy 🦩with the performance. We just need to first qualify a bit better and get into Q3, because Iܫ think we can do that and then we’ll see in the race.

“I’m surprised that in Formula 1 you do your own race,” he added.&nbs🍃p;

"Everybody is pitting, exiting the pits, and you don’t really know who you’re fighting. It seems like you just finish the race and you go ‘great, ju൲st great!’ That’s F1, I think.”

Despite finding himself in Red Bull’s high-pressure environment, the 23-year-old insisted he has been able to enjoy his time in F1 so far following some ♛sound advice from team boss Tost. 

“It’s very easy in this world, especially in F1, to feel under pressure all the time,” Al🌟bon said. “I’m here to enjoy it really. I love the sport. I loved my time in Melbourne. 

“I’m kind of taking it, no꧟t a step back to it all, but enjoying it really. Franz always tells me: don’t care, just don’t care, just do your thing. I do take it onboard as it is definitel🐠y a thing in F1.”