“He Looked Down on Us”: The Demeaning Attitude That Led to F1 Photographer Boycotting Alex Albon

Taidgh Barron, an F1 photographer, recently opened up about why he stopped photographing Williams driver, Alex Albon. When a follower on Instagram asked why Albon was noticeably absent from Barron’s photos (since March), he shared a disheartening reason for why he had to do it.

Barron explained that he found Albon’s general “vibe” around photographers belittling which left him feeling disrespected. According to Barron, Albon’s attitude seemed dismissive, as if he didn’t see value in their work.

However, despite enduring this perception for almost two years, Barron felt the breaking point came when Williams released an online reel joking that photographers had “the easiest job in the world”. It was especially hurtful for him because when Williams posted this reel, Barron was recovering from an injury in a Bahraini emergency room due to the difficult travel conditions faced by photographers.

“It always felt like he looked down on us. I had enough of it after two years when Williams and he made a reel demeaning photographers having ‘the easiest job in the world’ while I was in a Bahraini Emergency room without health insurance because I got injured from how rough we travel,” he responded to the comment.

its from @.taidgher reels on instagram, i didn’t save the video’s link but i took a screenshot. here! pic.twitter.com/IdsUvbsyzh

— wina (@albonisme) October 20, 2024

Despite the issues he has had with Albon, Barron did mention that he was ready to give him a second chance. He hinted that he would consider photographing Albon again if the Williams team showed more respect for the photographers’ work and stopped viewing them as a nuisance.

Interestingly, Barron also took the opportunity to praise Franco Colapinto, Albon’s teammate, for his respectful and cool demeanor. “Franco has been dope though,” he added, highlighting the difference in attitude between the two drivers.