Albon is set to share the AF Corse-prepared AlphaTauri car with New Zealander Nick Cassidy for the 2021 DTM season, dovetailing outings with his Formula 1 commitments with Red Bull – while alongside the pair, another New Zealander, former F3 competitor Liam Lawson, will drive a second 488, in Red Bull colours, as the Austrian company returns to DTM after two years out of the series.
Having spent his whole career racing karts and single-seaters, meanwhile, Albon said he was looking forward to the challenge of getting up to speed with ‘tin tops’ – having only experienced closed cockpit machinery once before, when he drove Mercedes DTM and McLaren GT cars while competing for the 2014 McLaren Autosport BRDC Award.
“DTM is a great series with highly talented drivers in the field and exciting racing,” said Albon. “I’ve only driven a ‘tin top’ once… and they’re really different to single seaters. There’s a lot less downforce and the tyres are very different, so it requires a different kind of driving style.
“It will take a bit of time to get used to, but I’m looking forward to a new racing challenge when I’m available outside of my existing F1 commitments.”
The eight-weekend DTM season will be kicking off on Monza on June 18-20 – although it’s yet to be confirmed which rounds Albon will contest.
