"I had the full picture of it" - F1 break gave Alex Albon a view of what it takes to be a top tier driver

Alex Albon feels his role in assisting Max Verstappen throughout the latter’s title battle last season helped him get a “full picture” of what it takes to succeed in the sport.

The Anglo-Thai driver is returning to F1 with Williams in 2022, following a season on the side-lines working as a simulator and development driver for Red Bull.

Speaking in an interview with Motorsport.com, following Williams' 2022 car launch, Albon said:

“I feel like having that year out, I have had a bit more of a global view of what it takes to be to be a top tier driver, in the sense that I had the full picture of it. Sometimes when you're in the race weekend, when you're flat out, kind of in that zone, you only see the racetrack, and that's kind of your year."

He added:

“Last year, it was a very different role for me, it was a lot about developing the car, about seeing how the team operates, in fulfilling my development role as best as I could. And I feel like there's a lot of experience there, learning the ways in which an F1 team operates.”

Alex Albon believes his new-found insights from Red Bull’s tough title offense will come in handy during his stint with Williams. The Grove-based team are looking forward to the new season, following an extensive regulation change.

After spending three miserable seasons stuck at the back end of the grid, the once all-conquering team is hoping to regain their former glory and move up the grid order.

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Alex Albon gets a second shot at his F1 dream

Alex Albon made his debut in 2019 for Red Bull’s junior team, Toro Ross, graduating from a spectacular F2 season alongside his close friends and rivals Lando Norris and George Russell. Albon was initially headed to Formule E, until Red Bull’s offer came knocking at the door.

In the first half of the season, he impressed his bosses at the Red Bull – enough to get himself promoted to the senior team, following Pierre Gasly’s disastrous campaign until then.

In his very first race since his promotion, the Thai driver impressed with a spectacular top 5 finish from the back of the grid. It happened on a day when his new teammate Max Verstappen had crashed out early on in the race.

While his qualifying performances were only marginally better compared to his predecessor Pierre Gasly, Alex Albon’s impressive race performances were often on par with Max Verstappen.

He came close to taking his first career podium at Interlagos but was tapped into a spin by a chasing Hamilton on the penultimate lap of the race (Ironically handing the podium to Gasly in the Toro Rosso).

Nevertheless, he had proved that he could perform up to Red Bull’s expectations. But the following season, Red Bull had a less-than-ideal car. The RB16 was tricky to handle and suffered from a rearward imbalance that even Max Verstappen struggled to overcome at times.

Albon, with just under a year’s worth of F1 experience, lacked the experience to overcome the car’s weaknesses. Hence, he struggled to extract the most out of it.

Nevertheless, he hit the ground running at the first race, challenging the Mercedes duo when his teammate once again retired from the race. When a safety car intervention put him onto a better tire strategy compared to the Mercs, the Thai looked capable of winning the race, only to be spun out by Hamilton in a near-identical fashion to the Interlagos event.

From there on, he never managed to recover his confidence, and generally lacked the qualifying pace to consistently challenge for the top 3 positions. It took until the Tuscan Grand Prix, amid high driver attrition, to score his first career podium.

By the end of the year, Red Bull had made their decision and signed Sergio Perez for 2021, but retained Alex Albon as reserve. Rather than losing more confidence, Albon doubled down and worked hard to secure Red Bull’s first driver’s title since 2013, playing a crucial role in Max Verstappen’s title campaign.

Red Bull paid back for Albon’s contribution by ensuring he had a race seat for 2022, convincing Williams to sign him.