As 2024 drew to a close, Alex Albon sat down to review and discuss a selection of photos from his year with Williams. While going through the snaps, the Thai-British driver shared an interesting tradition he had picked up from Daniel Ricciardo — treating his personal support team to dinner once or twice a season.
Albon came across a selfie clicked when he and his team had gathered for dinner in Monza during the Italian Grand Prix. He revealed that he had discovered the restaurant thanks to former RB driver Ricciardo.
“He used to take his team here, and then when I became a Red Bull driver, I heard that he would take the team to this place, so I went there, it was great. And I’ve kinda kept that tradition with my team,” Albon said.
Albon also bumped into Ricciardo during the dinner. “When I went upstairs afterwards, Daniel was still there,” he said.
Albon was the Aussie driver’s second predecessor at Red Bull after Pierre Gasly failed to live up to the team’s expectations. While Albon also faltered within a season and a half, his relations with past and present members of the Milton Keynes-based outfit, including Ricciardo, have been rather great.
Thank you @redbullracing https://t.co/okG3nEGqr6
— Alex Albon (@alex_albon) September 8, 2021
Even when the Thai-British driver left the stable to join Williams in 2022, he ended his relationship with Red Bull on a good note. Since then, Albon has settled in at the Grove-based team and has done well for them, especially in the first season. He scored 27 points, out of the team’s total haul of 28, helping them finish P7 in the Championship standings in 2023.
2024, however, was much more difficult for him and the team. Scoring points became a rarity, and Albon suffered multiple crashes with an under-par car restricting the British team to P9 in the constructors’ race.
Albon’s team, though, had tirelessly worked with him, to make the best out of the hardware they had at their disposal.
Who all are part of an F1 driver’s support team?
Every F1 driver’s personal team consists of members who are constantly at their beck and call. This includes the team’s pit crew members, race engineers, and other technicians who help with car performance. Besides that, drivers also have physiotherapists and performance coaches working with them.
Some teams also have a strength and conditioning coach for the pit-crew as well. As for drivers, their personal performance coaches handle all health and fitness aspects, including their diet, exercise routines, and recovery regimen.
The intensity of F1 racing, coupled with the pressure of G-forces on the neck and abdomen, requires intensive training. Performance and conditioning coaches help both drivers and the pit crew meet the high standards of fitness and agility necessary for peak performance during a Grand Prix.
