Although Alex Albon is one of the most talented drivers on the current F1 grid, he is yet to deliver his best and had struggled quite a times. Most of his difficult patches came during his Red Bull days when he was teammates with Max Verstappen. Since the Thai driver was unable to match Verstappen, many raised concerns about his performance. Moreover, Albon once revealed how some do not consider him British when he does a “bad job” even though he spent most of his childhood in the UK.
Amidst all this negativity, he ended up losing his Red Bull seat and had to settle for a reserve driver role. However, it did not take long for the driver to get a seat on the main grid as he returned with Williams in the 2022 season.
Ever since he returned to Williams, he has been phenomenal. The 27-year-old has been extremely impressive as he has managed to qualify for Q3 on multiple occasions despite many people questioning the ability of Williams to make it this far. And as Albon has continued to deliver some strong performances, fans have been all praises for him recently.
“I still consider myself as Thai“: Alex Albon on his nationality
In an interview with crash.net last year, Alex Albon provided an insight into his nationality. He began by stating, “I still consider myself as Thai, truthfully“. The 27-year-old is Thai-British, as his mother is from Thailand while his father is from the UK.
Since an F1 driver’s license can only have one nationality, Albon had to choose between the two and he preferred to choose Thailand. However, he did make it clear that he has a close connection with both the UK and the Silverstone circuit since he lives in the vicinity.
After Albon revealed his familial background, the interviewer asked him a difficult question about whether he feels accepted by British fans since he chooses to race under the Thai flag. In reply, he said, “Well it depends. Either, I’m called the London-born Thai if I do a good job, or I’m not British at all if I do a bad job!”
Despite making this remark, he did admit that on most occasions, he does feel that the British people do accept him. “Especially when I am in England, it’s where I get noticed the most,” he explained. “And I see a lot of people that are passionate about the sport, which is great“.
Even when it comes to his best friend in F1, he is British. Albon has an extremely close bond with former Williams driver George Russell and the two often hang out together when they are not racing. And since F1 is taking place at the British GP this weekend, Albon will hope to get some good support.
Albon considers Silverstone as his second home race
In the same interview, Alex Albon revealed that he considers the British Grand Prix at Silverstone as his second home race alongside Singapore. He then added that even though he lives in close proximity to Silverstone, he has not driven at this circuit much.
And despite his lack of experience at this venue, it did not stop him from registering another strong qualifying performance. Albon qualified in eighth, ahead of the Aston Martin of Fernando Alonso and the Alpine of Pierre Gasly.
And with Williams having shown much-improved pace at Silverstone this weekend, Albon could target another strong points-scoring finish in his second home race. The Thai driver is currently 13th in the championship with seven points, two points behind Haas’ Nico Hulkenberg.
