Red Bull F1 reserve Albon claims first pole and win in DTM

Red Bull Formula 1 reserve Alex Albon sealed a dominant maiden victory in the DTM at the Nurburgring round.

23 Aug 2021

Red Bull F1 reserve Albon claims first pole and win in DTM

The Anglo-Thai racer beat Mercedes’ Daniel Juncadella to his first pole in the DTM during a wet qualifying session for the second race of the weekend on Sunday and converted it into the win in convincing style.

Albon made a brilliant start and aced two Safety Car restarts on his way to clinching his first victory in the German touring car championship and his first win in any series since the 2018 Sochi feature race in Formula 2.

It marks the second victory of 2021 for the AF Corse Ferrari team backed by Red Bull and AlphaTauri, following Red Bull junior Liam Lawson’s win at the season-opener at Monza.

Albon retired from the opening race of the Nurburgring weekend but the ex-Alpha Tauri and Red Bull F1 driver has moved up to fourth place in the championship standings thanks to his maiden win.

The 25-year-old sits two points clear of Lawson and is 47 points adrift of championship leader Kevin van der Linde at the half-way mark of the season.

Albon has now claimed three podiums in the DTM in 2021, having previously finished third at Monza and Zolder.

Red Bull is yet to confirm which of the remaining four rounds Albon will contest as he dovetails his DTM outings alongside his F1 reserve duties.

Albon was hoping to secure a return to the F1 grid next year but Red Bull is expected to continue with their current driver line ups at both the senior team and sister outfit AlphaTauri for 2022.

With his F1 options appearing limited, Albon has not ruled out a full-time switch to IndyCar.