via Imago
Thai driver Alex Albon celebrated the first DTM win of his career in Sunday’s race eight at the iconic Nürburgring circuit to move up to fourth overall in the title race. // DTM at Nuerburgring, Germany on August 22, 2021 // Julian Kroehl / Red Bull Content Pool
via Imago
Thai driver Alex Albon celebrated the first DTM win of his career in Sunday’s race eight at the iconic Nürburgring circuit to move up to fourth overall in the title race. // DTM at Nuerburgring, Germany on August 22, 2021 // Julian Kroehl / Red Bull Content Pool
Alex Albon will return to Formula One this season with Williams Racing. The Thai driver sat out the 2021 season after being dropped by the Red Bull team at the end of the 2020 season. But he was an integral part of the Austrian team’s success in 2021. Albon is a part of F1’s young generation of drivers alongside Charles Leclerc, Max Verstappen, and George Russell. Interestingly, Albon raced against them in karting as well. He recently stated he beat Verstappen in karting to become world champion.
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Alex Albon recalls beating Max Verstappen in karting
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While being on the Motor Sport Magazine Podcast, the Red Bull Junior driver mentioned he got his big break in karting. He also stated that winning the karting championship in 2010 helped him in speeding up his career.
“I have a good story about the Intrepid Driver Program. In 2010, I beat Max to become the European and World championship. I moved up categories, so I went from KF3 straight to KF1 and before I jumped across, I was, more or less, the reference driver,” said Albon.
via Reuters
Formula One F1 – Abu Dhabi Grand Prix – Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates – December 11, 2021, Red Bull’s Max Verstappen poses with a tire after qualifying in pole position REUTERS/Rula Rouhana
Albon emphasized his role as the reserve driver for the Red Bull team in the 2021 season. He mentioned that he worked hard at the factory in Milton Keynes.
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“We spent a lot of time in the simulator last winter to make our car more stable than 2020’s and to address the main weaknesses. In 2020, the car was still quite tricky, especially because of the fickle rear. Of course, the rules for the adapted floor helped us, but at the same time we really maximized our own package,” Albon stated.
It will be amazing to see the Thai driver back on the grid for the 2022 season. He, unfortunately, did not show consistency for Red Bull in 2020, but he showed some amazing speed and wheel-to-wheel racing.
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With new 2022 cars, who knows how the teams will perform. But it will be amazing to see Alex fight the likes of Max and Charles again in F1, just like during their karting days.
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