Alex Albon is currently in his fifth season in F1 as a full-time driver and has become well-known among the fans for his calm personality. Although fans have such a perception of him, he claimed he has a “chaotic personality” when asked to name one thing that has not changed in him since his F1 debut back in 2019.
Ahead of his 100th F1 race this weekend in Austin, Albon appeared for an interview with Williams’ YouTube handle. During the interview, he said, “My personality hasn’t changed much. Being chaotic hasn’t changed. So from day one to now I am still the same”.
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
Although the 28-year-old seems much more settled at Williams now, he has not had the smoothest of journeys in F1. Albon started with Toro Rosso (now RB) in 2019 and quickly rose to fame after receiving a midseason promotion to the main Red Bull team.
However, his time at the Milton Keynes-based outfit was far from ideal. He was under immense pressure while driving alongside Max Verstappen, who is now fighting for his fourth world title this season. After failing to match the Dutchman in 2020 as well, Red Bull replaced Albon with Sergio Perez.
With Albon failing to find a seat elsewhere on the grid as well, he had to sit out during the 2021 campaign. That was until Williams decided to sign him in 2022 and resurrect his career. While Albon seems much happier now, he did reveal in detail his mental health struggles during his time at Toro Rosso in an interview last year.
Albon once revealed he faced immense criticism during his time at Toro Rosso
Albon appeared on the High-Performance YouTube channel last year, where he shed light on the criticisms he faced from fans online, especially when he was finding it difficult to keep up with Verstappen. The Thai driver had said,
“I got away from the social media side of things. I think Formula One, in itself, is a whole different topic about the new generation and the new fan base that comes with it. It is very different, but it was quite toxic truthfully”.
Albon added that fans would mock him on social media whenever he had an off day, which ultimately took a toll on his mental health. As a result, he felt he needed to step away from Red Bull after the 2020 campaign.
