“I didn’t want anyone’s pity”: Alex Albon opens up about the difficulties he faced during his sabbatical to get back in an F1 car

Williams driver Alex Albon has opened up about the difficulties he faced during his sabbatical from F1. The Thai-British driver was demoted to the role of a test driver at Red Bull in 2021 but found his way back to being a full-time driver the following year.

Albon paired up with now two-time world champion Max Verstappen in 2019 and 2020 but failed to keep up with the Dutchman's raw pace. The Briton was routinely outperformed by Verstappen over at Red Bull, causing the team to drop him for Sergio Perez the following year.

As a result, the driver was relinquished to the role of a test driver for the 2021 season. There, he helped Max Verstappen and Co. develop their 2021 challenger, the RB16B, which eventually won the 2021 drivers' title.

Speaking about the difficulties he faced over the course of his sabbatical, the Williams driver claimed he didn't want anyone's sympathy. Alex Albon told the Player's Tribune:

"It was a bit of a conundrum, honestly. I did everything I could in the simulator, as well as racing in DTM with GT3 cars to try and keep my skills sharp. But there was also this other side where I almost felt like … I wanted people to see me for what I had done in F1 in my first two years. I just didn’t feel like I was getting a fair shake from the community. I didn’t want anyone’s pity. It wasn’t like that at all."

Alex Albon an "unsung hero" in Max Verstappen's 2021 title fight, says Christian Horner

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has praised Alex Albon for his role behind-the-scenes in 2021. The driver worked closely with Verstappen, often helping with simulator data before major Grand Prix events. Horner said:

“Alex is an absolutely an unsung hero of this season, the hours that he’s put in, behind the scenes, in the dark simulator room, in the bowels of the factory late on a Friday evening, supporting the race drivers, assisting them, he’s done an unbelievable job.”

Alex Albon was also instrumental in helping rookie driver Yuki Tsunoda get up to speed in the highly competitive world of F1. The young Japanese driver made his debut for Red Bull's sister team AlphaTauri in 2021 and showed serious potential toward the end of the season despite getting off to a shaky start. Christian Horner praised Albon for his mentoring abilities, despite him being only 26 years old. He said:

“He’s also acted as a driver coach in the second half of the season to Yuki [Tsunoda], who’s made real progress, and we’ll be sad to see Alex go but we’re delighted he’s got a seat in Formula 1 next year and we’ll be rooting for him next season.”

It will be interesting to see how Albon pairs up with 2023 rookie Logan Sargeant over the course of the year.