Toro Rosso not getting results it deserves

Although the Faenza-based team had looked strong throughout practice and qualifying in Azerbaijan, Albon and teammate Daniil Kvyat were unable to turn their best grid slots of the year into points.

Albon lost ground after a lengthy first stint and finished 11th, while Kvyat suffered a slump of pace in the opening laps before a recovery was cut short when he was hit by Daniel Ricciardo in a bizarre escape road incident.

With Toro Rosso currently ninth in the constructors' championship, Albon is clear that the team has more potential than it had shown so far.

"I think at the minute we're just not really getting results we deserve," explained the Thai driver. "We've been qualifying good. Daniil proved it this weekend, that the car is quick in qualifying. And it has been quick previous to that in the other races.

"Our issue really has just been always having one thing or another – so things not going our way."

He added: "We don't have the points that our pace shows. There are definitely missed opportunities, because I think the points [situation] doesn't look great. But I am sure we can fight back. I know the car is quick."

While Albon's hopes of points in Azerbaijan evaporated after a lengthy first stint left him too far down the order to recover, he reckons that Toro Rosso was also perhaps flattered a little by getting on the pace in practice earlier than others.

"I think maybe everyone caught up," he said. "The car felt good the whole race and I was happy with the balance.

"McLaren definitely stepped up from Friday and then the people around us, we knew that we were quite close with them, and I think our pace was also similar [on Sunday], to be honest.

"But track position is key, and I think when we did stay out, two laps extra I think it was, we lost like four or five seconds a lap, so that's 10 seconds. It's not that easy [to then catch up]."