Alex Albon claims that he was the most unprepared driver to enter Formula 1 in history, as a last-minute call saw him join Toro Rosso.
Red Bull in 2019 promoted Alex Albon to Toro Rosso (now Alpha Tauri) after observing him in F2 during the 2018 season. However, the Thai born British driver was never meant to enter F1 at that stage and was going to ply his trade in Formula E with Nissan.
But the last-minute call by Red Bull bosses made him drop his initial plans and choose the prominent most motorsport. He talks about how chaotic that time was in his life.
“It happened very last minute,” Albon told the Motor Sport Magazine Podcast. “I don’t want to go into details about how the whole thing kind of happened.”
“But it was a tricky one because, obviously, with Nissan tied up and everything like that, it didn’t make it as easy as I wish it had been, to switch from Formula E to Formula 1.”
“Obviously, as a driver my age, I always want to be in Formula 1. That’s everyone’s goal [from] being a kid. But yeah, we just had to find a deal, and once the deal was sorted, that was it.”
Also read: Alex Albon predicts Red Bull to pick up where they left in the 2022 season
Totally unprepared Alex Albon
Albon further believes that he had to be the most unprepared F1 driver to enter the sport. He mentions that he hardly got his hands-on tests early.
“I was one of the most unprepared drivers, I think, ever to get into F1,” he said. “Because I think everyone’s done testing before they arrive into F1, but my first test was literally the day one of Barcelona winter testing, and that was it.”
“And I spun! I spun straightaway. I spun in Turn 4. “And I was like, ‘Oh my God, what have I got myself into?'” he added. After a few races with Toro Rosso, Albon was promoted to Red Bull to replace Pierre Gasly.
Even Albon didn’t get a free run in Red Bull and was soon replaced by Sergio Perez. The 25-year-old driver will now be racing for Williams in the 2022 season.
Also read: George Russell agrees Alex Albon played pivotal role in making his F1 career
