“100 Races These Days Aren’t That Special”: Alex Albon on Not Being Sentimental About Reaching a Career Milestone

Alex Albon reached a huge personal milestone last weekend in Austin when he started his 100th F1 race. This was huge, as most young aspirants would be over the moon by just reaching the pinnacle of motorsports. Albon, however, did not consider his moment to be all that special.

In a video uploaded by Williams on YouTube ahead of the United States GP, Albon was asked how he felt about hitting the century mark. With a shake of the head, the Thai-British driver said,

“Maybe if I look back on it, I would be more sentimental about it. I feel like 100 races these days are not that special“.

Although it may seem surprising at first, there’s a reason Albon didn’t feel too different about reaching the 100-race milestone. Today’s F1 calendar features 24 races a year—almost half a dozen more than what it was a decade ago. With so much racing, it doesn’t take long to hit that mark, which also explains why many on the grid reached it before Albon.

Another reason drivers may not fully savor such achievements is that, with so many races in a year, they are constantly focused on the next challenge of the season.

This is something Fernando Alonso alluded to in a recent interview when he shared his feelings about reaching the 400 mark (yes, he’s been racing for that long). Alonso said,

“It doesn’t mean too much for me right now because you are racing and you are focused on the next weekend,”

With Alonso not feeling particularly proud of his achievements despite having competed in four times as many races, it’s no surprise that Albon doesn’t view reaching 100 races as “special” in today’s era.

Albon claimed he is “one of the least experienced“

There are many in F1 today, who have crossed the 100 GP mark — some younger than Albon. That is a reason why he did not want to count the number of races has taken part in to date.

In another interview, the Williams driver said,

“Feel I have been in F1 for a while but I am still one of the least experienced drivers on the grid“.

The 28-year-old is right to consider himself less experienced than some of his peers. For example, George Russell (26) and Lando Norris (24) have both competed in more races (123) than Albon, despite being younger.

From a ‘super shy kid’ to taking Williams into the new era of Formula 1.

We sat down with Alex ahead of his 100th Grands Prix for an exclusive piece ⬇️

— Williams Racing (@WilliamsRacing) October 20, 2024

There are two key reasons why Albon has competed in fewer races than both Russell and Norris. Firstly, he had to sit out an entire season after Red Bull relegated him to a reserve driver role in 2021. It wasn’t until Williams signed him the next year that his career saw a resurgence.