Following a shocking switch from Toro Rosso to Red Bull during the summer break, Alex Albon managed to put on a show in his first ever race for the Honda-powered outfit.

The Thai-British driver was relegated to P17 after Red Bull opted to take a grid penalty by fitting an upgraded Honda power unit – although in the end they ended up racing with the old engine. Still, Albon produced a heck of a recovery race this past Sunday at Spa.

Not only was he consistent throughout, but he also pulled off a couple of spectacular overtaking maneuvers. The first was on former Red Bull driver (now with Renault) Daniel Ricciardo on lap 35, which moved Albon to 8th place with 9 laps to go. Then, he went wheel to wheel with Sergio Perez on the very last lap of the race in order to secure P5.

“Alex has impressed me all weekend with his approach, his feedback, his pace,” said team boss Christian Horner. “In the race he did a very mature job. The first half of the race we weren’t quite as competitive on the harder tire as we were on the softer tire but he didn’t make any silly mistakes or take any silly risks. He just dialed himself in.”

“I said to him on the grid, ‘I think the car will come alive in the second half of the race.’ It certainly did in the second half of the race. We know Daniel’s a tough racer – his move on Daniel, his move on Sergio on the last lap were impressive. To go from P17 to P5 was a very good start.”

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It’s safe to assume that Albon will quickly climb the ladder in the Driver’s Standings, where he currently sits 10th with 26 points – but is within immediate striking distance of both Kvyat as well as Raikkonen.

As for the real winner of the 2019 Belgian Grand Prix, that would be Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, who took home his very first Formula 1 win after a dominant performance.