Alex Albon made a quick jump in his F1 career when he joined Red Bull midway into the 2019 season, replacing Pierre Gasly.
Albon made his F1 debut in 2019 for Toro Rosso, after an impressive Formula 2 campaign the previous year. Pierre Gasly, who impressed with Toro Rosso, was given the opportunity to partner with Max Verstappen in 2019, but it turned out to be disastrous for the Frenchman.
He couldn’t match Verstappen on any front and was comprehensively outperformed. Red Bull decided to pull the plug midway into the 2019 campaign, and Gasly was demoted back to their sister team. Albon, who had a great first half of the 2019 season was then brought on board as Verstappen’s teammate.
Alex Albon is still a Red Bull athlete, as such, will wear a Red Bull-branded helmet. He is not sponsored by Red Bull Thailand.
However, Red Bull’s Thai owners are sponsoring Albon under their separate vineyard company, Monsoon Valley, as seen on his racesuit. #F1 #Albon
— Decalspotters (@decalspotters) February 16, 2022
Albon performed really well during the second half of the 2019 campaign. It was enough for Red Bull to offer him a new deal for the 2020 season. However, he failed to live up to expectations that year and was sacked at the end of 2020. He spent 2021 on the sidelines, as Red Bull’s reserve and development driver.
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Alex Albon needed more time to develop before joining Red Bull
Albon joined Williams in 2022, and his return to F1 has been strong. He also looks very confident behind the wheel, which has led to people wondering what went wrong during his Red Bull stint.
According to the Thai-British driver, he needed more time before joining Red Bull. He feels youngsters today are given a lot of time to develop before making the jump to a big team, and he did not get that. With Toro Rosso, Albon started just 12 races before becoming Verstappen’s teammate.
Them 2 are just generational talents you can’t compare them
— James (@James986_) August 13, 2022
“I wouldn’t say anything went wrong,” Albon said to AMuS regarding his time at Red Bull. That would be an exaggeration. After half a year, I was put straight into a top team. Earlier than any other driver and without testing before.”
“If you look at youngsters today, they get the chance to develop slowly. 2019 was a good year. Then in 2020, I struggled with the car.”
Albon’s comments have confused a lot of F1 fans. Drivers like Lewis Hamilton and Verstappen started their F1 careers at a very young age, and guided top teams to victories from the very get go. Some fans however, recognize the fact that Hamilton or Verstappen can’t be compared to Albon, since they are generational talents.
