Yuki Tsunoda joined AlphaTauri in 2021, and struggled comprehensively to settle into F1. It was Red Bull’s reserve driver that year, Alex Albon, who was asked to take Tsunoda under his wing. In fact, their chief advisor Helmut Marko asked the Thai-British driver to help the Japanese star settle into F1. Albon, however, was not keen on doing so.
In an episode of the High Performance podcast, Albon speaks about how he felt behind the scenes as a reserve driver for Red Bull. In addition to his simulator duties, he had to coach younger stars within the Red Bull academy. However, things got strange when Marko asked him to coach youngster Tsunoda.
“I was helping them [Red Bull youngsters] get up to speed,” he said. “And it was this weird thing. For example with Yuki, I wanted, I wanted to take his seat. He was a potential candidate I could replace.
He added that he had a chat with Marko, where the Austrian asked him to “driver coach” Tsunoda. Defiantly, Albon refused to follow the order. “I’m not going to.” The thought process behind Albon saying no was simple. He wanted to get back to F1 after losing his main seat to Sergio Perez at the end of 2021.
AlphaTauri was one of the teams he could find himself driving for. To help a driver, whose seat he wanted so badly, did not sit right with him. Admittedly, there were other factors too that made the 2021 season really difficult for Albon.
How Max Verstappen’s feedback led to Alex Albon getting dejected?
Alex Albon struggled massively during his only full season with Red Bull back in 2020. The team didn’t field a particularly strong car in a season dominated by Mercedes. Nevertheless, Max Verstappen (like he usually does) was miles ahead of Albon.
Now, however, Albon recalls that the balance of the car was not good at all. During pre-season testing in 2021, when Sergio Perez and Verstappen took to the track in Bahrain, Albon went home dejected. This is because Verstappen told him how the car felt so much better overall.
Albon was disappointed because he felt that was just what he needed to prove himself. Unfortunately, by then, it was too late, and he found himself to be sidelined. The future hasn’t been too bad for the 27-year-old though.
Fast forward to 2023, and Albon is the lead driver at Williams. He is spearheading a project aimed at reviving the iconic British team, which they hope will take them to the top of F1 once again.
