Alex Albon: I feel like I play an important role in the team

Last season was quite successful for Alex Albon, although he managed to score points in only three races. But he achieved the most important thing: Williams signed a long-term contract with him, restoring his professional reputation in Formula 1.

“I’ve always had to fight for it. I’ve always felt like I have to fight back every year, just to keep racing next season, – Albon quotes the British edition of The Race. – It started from the moment I 14 or 15 years old, so I’m used to it.

Twice in my career there were situations where I doubted whether I had a future in motorsport. This was the case in 2018, for example. If you feel that you are already on the verge of, say, survival, then at some point you stop worrying too much. When you race, you worry about your own future, but then you have nothing to lose.

Maybe I never really stood out in the youth categories, but I always fought on the track with racers like George Russell and Charles Leclerc, and everyone else too. Therefore, if you miss the season, you are in a difficult position.

At the end of 2020 my shares fell sharply, but I wanted to get back into Formula 1. You need someone who believes in you for this. And Williams believed in me, for which, of course, I will be eternally grateful.

I think they looked at the results I’ve shown in the past. I think many have already forgotten that the beginning of my career in F1 was very confident, which is why I was brought to Red Bull. Before the start of this year I knew I had to show everything. what he is capable of.”

In 2020 Albon was a teammate of Max Verstappen, and that season is not easy to call. It looked like Alex was starting to lose confidence in himself towards the end of the championship, and it should come as no surprise that Red Bull didn’t renew his contract, but still offered the role of reserve driver.

“It felt like I had improved in the later stages of the 2020 season, fixed things, but obviously it was too late,” recalled Alex. – It all ended with the fact that you no longer have the opportunity to drive a Formula 1 car, and you are trying to find an answer to the question of why it happened. I had time to analyze everything, to understand what should be done differently, and I managed to gain some experience, although I did not drive such machines.

It was even helpful to step back, appreciate the picture in its entirety, and only then return. It seemed to me that during the year that I spent without Formula 1, I began to understand better what requirements I place on the car. It can be said that in that year I have become a more mature person and I already know how to better solve certain problems. Although it is clear that this is not an ideal situation, and if I had not had to miss the season, I would not have done it.

This allowed Williams to agree with Red Bull and Albon to return to Formula 1 in 2022, although it is quite clear that this team has a completely different car.

“I think people who see everything from the side don’t understand how nervous a car can be,” explained Alex. – You hardly ever see it, because the racer sends the car back to the desired trajectory. If you no longer trust the car, it will start driving you and you will only react to its behavior. But you can’t, because you have to master it yourself.

Even before you enter the corner, you need to know how you are going to act. Otherwise, go in and wait for the car to behave and react to it, but it will be too slow.

Behind the wheel of Williams it seems to me that I have better control of the situation, at every moment I know exactly what the car is going to do. Her behavior is more predictable, more in line with my preferences. Although the Williams car now needs to be driven to its limits – it should be acting nervous, but I feel like I have everything under control. And this is something different from what Red Bull felt at the end of the 2020 season…

In addition, of course, I can now call myself the leader of the team – unlike what it was in the past. We have common goals with the team, we are equally determined. The first thing I thought about when I got a place at Williams: “I want to stay in Formula 1, I want to give my best.” There were a lot of issues related to the contract, etc., but now I’m happy to be working with this team.

Sure, in a sense I felt I had found freedom. I have been with Red Bull for a long time since I was 12 years old. But when the opportunity arises to move to another team, you feel free, because you are starting a new project. This sense of independence encourages me and I feel like I play an important role in the team.”