Sidelined Alex Albon Makes Heartbreaking Confession Amid George Russell, Lando Norris F1 Success

Alex Albon is an F1 regular with Williams, however, his journey, including the 2021 season, wasn’t straightforward. The Thai-British driver stepped into the big leagues with Toro Rosso, but the tale has a twist. Despite competing for the F2 championship, Albon had no offers and was a free agent. Although he claimed his F1 seat with Toro Rosso in 2019, his move to the constructor was as last minute as it gets.

Before Alex Albon signed with the Italian team, he had officially joined another series. However, the offer was rescinded, and he became a part of the traveling circus.

Recalling the turns of events at the beginning of his F1 career, Albon shared his account of the incident and emotions before joining Toro Rosso. He said, “The build-up to it was what made it so emotional, I’d say. In 2018, I was in Formula 2. I was having a good year. I was obviously fighting George and Lando for the championship. At the time, I was a free agent, but no one was interested in me.” 

“So I signed a Formula E deal, and that was kind of my future. I was heading towards electric racing… But then the call came through from Dr. Marko and he said ‘Well there’s a space here, are you interested?’ which of course you are and it all happened so late… It felt like from December of that 2018 period to the first race, it was just a blur. It happened all so quickly.”

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The Thai driver’s time in F1 got off to an amazing start, and he even got a promotion to Red Bull from Toro Rosso midway through the 2019 season. However, his career became turbulent again as early as the 2021 season.

Alex Albon discusses the 2021 season heartbreak

The Thai driver’s time at Red Bull lasted 18 months after he took over from Pierre Gasly in 2019. Sergio Perez replaced Albon for the 2021 season, which was announced after the last race of the 2020 season.

The late announcement was also a contributing factor in Albon not securing a seat elsewhere; he was demoted to a test driver for Red Bull. When asked about his feelings following the demotion, Albon simply said, “Ah, it killed me. It was terrible.”

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However, following the 2021 season, the Thai pilot secured a seat and is guaranteed a drive for 2023 as well with Williams, which he hilariously confirmed.