"It drains you massively" - Alex Albon relates to Daniel Ricciardo and Mick Schumacher's current situation in F1

Alex Albon explained in a recent interview how he related to Daniel Ricciardo after the Australian was replaced at McLaren preemptively. Albon was similarly replaced at Red Bull in 2020 after a dismal performance all year round. The Thai racing driver, in an interview with PlanetF1, said:

"I felt like I was hungry maybe a week after I left, or got taken out, but I can see what he means because when you have bad years in F1 – I can only talk about my experience [in] 2020 – it drains you massively."

Albon had replaced Pierre Gasly midseason in 2019 after a disappointing start by the Frenchman but he failed to perform to the level of Verstappen in his first complete season at Red Bull in 2020. After news of Sergio Perez becoming a free agent in 2021 broke and the Mexican won the 2020 Sakhir Grand Prix, the fate of Albon at the team was sealed. He was replaced by Sergio Perez and had to wait a full year before getting a seat at Williams for 2022.

Similarly, Daniel Ricciardo was replaced at McLaren after the Australian driver failed to adjust to the car and failed to score points consistently. His teammate Lando Norris had an outstanding year, finishing right behind the drivers of the top three teams. Ricciardo's contract with the Woking based outfit lasted for three years but was terminated a year early. McLaren opted to replace him with his fellow compatriot Oscar Piastri, the 2021 F2 World Champion.

Alex Albon explained to the media how his situation was a bit different than that of Ricciardo's but they both ended up away from a seat in the sport they loved. The Thai driver said:

"The noise in the paddock and of course more than anything, your own performances, you know, we’re born to be competitive and hungry for it and when it’s not that – that’s what we live on. It’s all about performance. It’s all about doing a good job."

Alex Albon also spoke about how Mick Schumacher would be feeling since the youngster was also left without a seat for 2023. The German was replaced at Haas by a returning Nico Hulkenburg. Albon said:

"So yeah, it’s very heavy and I think it took me a couple of weeks to kind of get through the emotional impact of missing out on a seat, but because I was young, I think I kind of felt like it was never over, and I knew I could have a chance [of coming] back."

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Alex Albon is more confident in himself and his car this year

Alex Albon spoke about what has changed since the Thai driver returned in 2022 with Williams. Albon also answered what changes he would want to make himself next year, stating:

"I believe so, the main thing is just confidence with the car, more than anything, it’s the driving confidence. I feel like I’ve got that back, which is the most important because obviously, you’ve got to drive quickly."

He continued, speaking about the car and how much he pushed it to the limit, which was not the case in 2020. Alex Albon said:

"I feel like this year I’ve been on top of the car, I feel like I’ve been able to push it to the limit – and that was something which I struggled a bit with in 2020, just starting to lose that authority on the car and being able to get what I want out of it."

Albon will look to score some precious points for his team in 2023 alongside new teammate Nyck de Vries.