“It Was Very Toxic”: Alex Albon on His Time as Red Bull Driver

Alex Albon had an underwhelming spell at Red Bull as he struggled massively to match Red Bull teammate Max Verstappen. As a result of the Thai driver’s below-par performances, he received immense criticism. The 27-year-old has now opened up on the same in an interview with the High-Performance Podcast.

When asked if he enjoyed being a Red Bull driver, Albon without any hesitation replied, “Not at all. No. I was struggling I think. I was struggling with the attention around it. I deleted all my socials. It was very toxic, the mocking, the quotes. The becoming a laughing joke, a meme“.

“Were you enjoying being a Red Bull driver?”

“Not at all. No. I was struggling I think, I was struggling with the attention around it. I deleted all my socials. It was very toxic, the mocking, the quotes, the becoming a laughing joke, a meme.”

Oh Alex🥹💔 pic.twitter.com/odSDSbJ6wL

— leo🐋 (@formuleo_) November 23, 2023

After being way off the pace in 2019 and 2020 when compared to teammate Verstappen, Red Bull demoted Albon to a reserve driver role in 2021. One of the possible reasons why Albon struggled massively at Red Bull is because the team perhaps produced a car that was more suited to Verstappen’s strengths.

Even though Albon had a horrible time at Red Bull, he seems to be having the time of his life at Williams currently. The Thai driver has produced such outstanding performances for the Wantage-based outfit that he is once again on the radar for some of the top teams on the grid.

How has Alex Albon performed at Williams?

After his failure to secure a race seat in 2021, Alex Albon returned as a full-time driver with Williams in 2022. He replaced the departing George Russell and partnered Nicholas Latifi last season.

Despite having by far the slowest car on the grid, Albon managed to score four crucial points for the team. The Thai driver then continued his form into this season by scoring an outstanding 23 points for Williams.

Albon has been so brilliant this season that reports even emerged that Red Bull wanted to recruit him back into their driver program. However, it was the 27-year-old who said, “No, thank you“, on this occasion.

Hence, even though Williams are no longer a top team, Albon does seem to be far happier in this side than he was at Red Bull. The former Red Bull driver currently has a multi-year deal with Williams for 2023 and beyond.