Albon is a product of the Red Bull Junior Drivers Academy and started his F1 career with Toro Rosso (now AlphaTauri) in 2019 before swapping seats with Pierre Gasly midway through the campaign.
The Thai-British driver hit the ground running with a slew of impressive performances in the second half of 2019 before his form dipped considerably in 2020. This resulted in him being dropped and Red Bull choosing to sign Sergio Perez. The Mexican has since extended his contract to run until the end of the 2024 season.
Despite having no avenue to go back to Red Bull in the immediate future, Albon is not fussed. Speaking in an interview with Tobias Grüner from German publication Auto Motor und Sport, the Thai-British driver was asked about the differences in his approach, having moved from a front-running team to a backmarker. Albon said:
When asked if not being able to fight for podiums and wins has impacted his mindset, Albon replied:
“The break in 2021 came in handy” - Alex Albon on how stepping away from F1 helped him improve
During the aforementioned Auto Motor und Sport interview, Alex Albon also underlined how his enforced hiatus from F1 in 2021 helped him improve as a driver.
Albon’s time at Red Bull was tough right from the get-go, primarily due to the team expecting him to operate near the same level as Max Verstappen. This proved to be a hill too steep for the Thai-British driver to climb at that point in his career.
Looking back at it with the benefit of hindsight on his side, Alex Albon said:
Presently, Alex Albon has three points this season and is the only Williams driver to have scored points this year. He is in P19 in the World Drivers’ Championship standings with the 2022 F1 Belgian GP fast approaching in a fortnight.
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