Alex Albon

## Career Overview

### **Toro Rosso (2019)**

Alex Albon joined Toro Rosso for 2019. Originally, he was to race for Nissan E-dams in Formula E, but with Daniil Kvyat moving from Red Bull, Toro Rosso needed a second driver to partner Niko Kari.

Albon would have a successful debut. Almost making out of Q1, and finishing the race in 17th. Beating the last finisher of Colton Herta in the process. Round 2 was also strong, getting the better of Kari in qualifying, and finishing 15th, however behind Kari in the race.

A quiet race from Albon at round 5, Azerbaijan, would yield him his first point in F1 after profiting from Daniil Kvyat's retirement late on.

### **Mid-Season promotion to Red Bull (2019 - 2021)**

Albon was promoted to Red Bull at the weekend of the British Grand Prix, replacing Pierre Gasly who'd been dropped for poor performance. This move was met with a lot of criticism, as Gasly was on par with Verstappen in the races up until this point, and Niko Kari in the other Toro Rosso was having the better season over Albon. Albon went on to finish the race in 8th. Albon's engine would fail a few laps into the Belgian Grand Prix, prompting concerns over Honda's reliability. Verstappen was in contention for a second place finish, but engine issues significantly halted the Dutchman's progress. He eventually slipped to 13th. It would be a hat trick of engine failures for Honda, as midway through the Italian Grand Prix Albon's engine let go.

Red Bull returned to form at the Hungarian Grand Prix, Verstappen took the race win and fastest lap. Albon also reached the podium for the first time finishing third.

#### **2020**

With the pace Red Bull showed over 2020 Winter Testing, Albon will be looking for his first victory this season. However, the Thai-Brit would struggle in an underperforming Red Bull car in the opening rounds, falling outside of the top 12 following the Monaco Grand Prix.

Alex Albon became the first Thai driver to win a Grand Prix, following the German Grand Prix. Albon started from a lowly 14th, on a set of Medium tyres. Following a mid-race Safety Car, the Red Bull driver found himself leading the race. The drivers that started in the top 10 pitted for new tyres under the Safety Car, dropping tjem behind most of the midfield pack. Albon was able to use the much improved race pace of his RB16 to pull away from Rio Haryanto and Nicholas Latifi. With the latter two debating who finished second, Albon took the race win by 7 seconds. Alex Albon took his second race victory at the Australain Grand Prix. Team mate Verstappen dropped out early, leaving Albon to fend of the Alfa Romeos and Toyotas. Multiple lead changes occurred, three on one lap, but Albon lead the most important lap, the last lap.

#### **2021**

Alex Albon proving in 2020 he has what it takes to be a race winner on his day, and be there at the front should Verstappen falter remained at RedBull.

After a poor qualifying, Albon put in a strong race to open the new season finishing 5th, but behind the AlphaTauri of Sergio Sette Camara. Round two showed an upturn in pace but still below Red Bull's expectations. Albon 6th and Verstappen 7th. Round 3 would prove difficult for Albon. The Thai driver suffered a front wing failure, forcing an extra stop and leaving him 14th. This was the third wing failure for a driver in two races, prompting discussions as to whether there needs to be a design change to improve safety.

Red Bull appeared to have reached a turning point with their Spanish Grand Prix upgrade package. Verstappen took the team's first pole of the season, and went on to finish second in the race. Albon however, crashed into the Alfa Romeo of Kevin Magnussen behind the Safety Car and was later disqualified from the race.

A shortened and difficult season saw Albon finish only 12th.

### **Williams (2022- present)**

Former Red Bull driver Alex Albon has been cleared to race outside of the Red Bull family, whilst retaining his connections. The Thai-Brit struggled at times to gel in the Red Bull-Verstappen environment, and more often than not found himself in the shadow of the Dutchman. A change of environment could be just what he needs to re find his pace that earned him a promotion from Toro Rosso back in 2019.

Albon made the most of Williams' improved pace, finishing the opening race in 7th.

An engine upgrade from RBPT/Honda at Round 2, Japan appeared to work wonders. Alex Albon topped FP2, FP3 and Qualifying 3. Rookie Dan Ticktum also featured inside the top 5 in those sessions. Albon lead the first half of the race, and was comfortably ahead of Fernando Alonso. The Thai-Brit was set for Williams' first win since 2019. That was until on lap 16 the Power Unit failed and forced him to retire from the lead.

Alexander Albon hooked up his Williams to take consecutive Pole Positions for Australia. Dan Ticktum lined up in 5th.

On lap 8, Zhou Guanyu suffered a third Power Unit failure in three races. This brought out the Safety Car and every driver made a stop for the Hard tyres. Leclerc retired from the race under the Safety Car. Albon maintained the lead on the restart, but lacked pace and was holding up Alonso and Tirowee. On lap 19, Alonso failed to make a move on Albon. This gave Tirowee the momentum to make moves on them both to steal the lead.

Tirowee held the lead onto lap 23, when Albon launched an attack. The two battled though the first sector. Albon pulled ahead out of turn 5, but had a compromised corner exit. Tirowee tried to switch-back, but made contact with Ticktum, who was trying to follow through Albon. A high speed impact took both out of contention for points, but both were able to continue. The Safety Car was redeployed so debris could be cleared. Albon once again held the lead on the second restart ahead of Alonso and Max Verstappen.

Albon held on to take his third race victory, and Williams' first since 2019.

Williams unveiled a new livery at the Italian Grand Prix. A deal was struck with Singapore Airlines, as well as BMW. The German marque returned to sponsor the team they supplied Power Units to from 2016-2019. This sponsorship came about due to Williams holding back much of their previous prize money payouts to develop the FW44. Wanting to secure some of that recognition, BMW branding featured on the front and sides of the car. The race was also a successful outing for Alexander Albon, starting third and finishing in fourth.

There was a mass-pileup during the Belgian Grand Prix involving Albon. Most drivers made their one stop at the end of lap 10. Perez pitted for Hard tyres. At pit exit, his RB18 suffered a gearbox issue, as was stuck in second. The Mercedes behind of Russell plowed into Perez, shattering parts of the M13 all over the track. Unsighted drivers behind plowed into the wreckage. Russell, Gasly, Ocon, Albon and Matsushita all left behind their wrecked machines.

The four former would receive medical attention. The red flag was brought out, allowing Verstappen to hold the lead. Perez's fate wad sealed on the reconnaissance lap to the rolling restart, another gearbox issue holding the Mexican.

Albon returned to action at round 11. It wasn't the return he or the team were hoping for. The Thai-Brit turned the Alfa Romeo of Josh Tirowee mid-race and had to pit for a new front wing.

Albon defied all expectations, taking a victory and consistent points all season to finish 9th overall, ahead of the works Ferrari and Mercedes of Carlos Sainz and George Russell.

#### **2023**

Alexander Albon becomes a fully fledged Williams driver, parting ways officially from Red Bull. The Thai-Brit impressed last season, taking a win at the Australian Grand Prix, and emerged as the team leader.

Las Vegas hosted the first of three Wildcard races, allocating 5 points for pole, and all 20 positions in the race. Max Verstappen stormed to pole with a time of 1:34.460. Albon secured a front row start, despite setting a time 0.6s slower than the defending champion. Verstappen got the perfect start, whilst Albon locked down second. Albon and Mick Schumacher started on Softs for a two-stop strategy, whilst the rest of the field started on Mediums for a planed one-stop. Albon made his first of 2 stops at the end of lap 7 for Mediums. Pierre Gasly span on lap 13, blocking the track after the strip, and brought out the first Safety Car of the season. The Safety Car ruined Albon's and Schumacher's strategy, but they were both on Mediums compared to Hards for the other 18 drivers. Albon held his ground and secured a strong 6th position.

Williams brought significant upgrade package, as well as a new Gulf livery to the Japanese Grand Prix. Albon qualified lead Williams in 12th, Ticktum was on in Q1 for the third time in a row. Rain arrived on lap 19. Three laps later it was time to pit for Inters. Red Bull opted to double stack. As the Austrian outfit had the first pit stall, Tirowee was blocked in his box by the stacking Ferraris in front. The Brit dropped to 8th behind Albon. The Williams and Red Bull have the same Power Unit, and Albon used all his defensive skills to hold off hi former team. With pride at stake, Tirowee upped the pressure and passed the Thai driver.

Williams switched to a low-drag setup during FP2 of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, and ended the session 5th and 7th. FP3 was a washout, and only 9 drivers set times. Albon topped the pile from Gasly and Hamilton. Albon had his best start of the season with fourth. The Williams was the fastest car through the speed trap, and Albon passed the lead Honda powered Red Bull for 2nd on lap 8. The top four headed into the pits at the end of lap 12. A routine quick stop from Red Bull got Verstappen back into 2nd. Hamilton pulled away from Albon during the second stint for a secure 3rd.

Albon dialed into the potential of the Williams to top FP1 of the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix from the Spaniards of Sainz and Alonso. Albon could only manage 11th in FP2, with Ticktum only three tenths further back in 12th. Albon qualified 5th in the wet conditions. Ticktum was again out in Q1 in 16th, but dropped to the back with a gearbox penalty. Albon was pushing the Williams to the limit, in search of his and the team's first podium of the season. On lap 12/32, Albon had a half spin but only lost one place to Leclerc. Aslonso was fired up, and was into the top 5 on lap 16 after putting a move on the flustered Albon. Albon wrote his wrong on lap 29 and recovered the place he lost to Leclerc in the first stint to move back up to 5th.

Williams and Albon lost another podium opportunity at the Austrian Grand Prix. Something finally clicked for Tirowee with the RB19. The Brit secured the lead off the start, whilst Schumacher powered into 2nd. Verstappen took back the position on lap 3. Their squabbling allowed Albon behind to close. Schumacher took back the position on lap 5, whilst Albon demoted Verstappen off the podium. Albon was on a push for a podium and passed Schumacher on the next lap. Albon's valiant effort ended on lap 13, as Verstappen then Schumacher repassed the Williams. The battle for 3rd went to the pits on lap 17, with Schumacher remaining ahead of Albon. The Thai-Brit's race ended half a lap later with a loose wheel forcing the Williams to pull over.

Williams trialed 0-0 wings during FP1 of the Canadian Grand Prix, as the ultra slippery FW45 was already usually the fastest in the speed traps at regular downforce levels. With most of the lap taken at full-throttle, the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve provided the perfect opportunity for Albon or Sargeant to take the team's long awaited first podium of the season. Albon liked the balance of the Williams to top FP1 on Mediums from Piastri on Softs. Sargeant completed the top 3, also on Mediums. Albon again topped set the standard in FP2 from Piastri. Lance Stroll ran strongly to complete the top 3. The Thai-Brit completed Practice clean sweep from Gasly and Tirowee.

It was an extremely wet start to qualifying, but the sky was brightening up. Four big names were caught out in the transition from Wets to Inters at the end of Q1, with Tirowee 20th, Alonso 19th, Leclerc 18th and Russell 17th. The track was drying rapidly throughout Q2, but Inters was still the way to go. The track was just about dry enough at the end of Q3 for Softs, with last over the line having the best track conditions. Albon took a second row start with 4th.

All 20 drivers survived the opening lap without damage. The red flag was out on lap 5, as Carlos Sainz's day ended early, and Liam Lawson collected the Ferrari in the process. By the time the AlphaTauri and Ferrari had been cleared away, the sun was out and the track was dry. 17/18 remaining drivers were on Drys. Toyota made a catastrophic error and fitted the Brazilian's TRD123 with Inters. Sette Camara's excellent qualifying and opening laps had been wasted. To add to the restart chaos, Zhou's Alfa Romeo experienced a clutch issue and the Chinese pulled off at turn 1. The Williams was in its element in the dry, and Albon powered into the lead at the end of lap 9. The skies began to darken once more by lap 18, but Williams still pitted Albon for a set of Mediums. Two laps later, the Heavens opened and it was time for Inters once more. In a desperate bid to regain lost track position, Albon and Norris attempted another lap on Drys, which would only drop the pair further behind.

Schumacher brought out a second red flag on lap 29, when the German had an identical crash to Sainz. It was a four lap sprint to the end on Full Wets. Logan Sargeant was only half a second away from his first podium, whilst another opportunity was squandered by Albon and Williams, with the FW45 crossing the line only in 11th (+FL).

Albon had an incident packed Singapore Grand Prix. Albon made contact with Tirowee and brought their running for the session to an end. The Williams driver misread Tirowee running wide as him letting Albon through. The Thai-Brit would then crash out at the same place on lap 6 with cold Inters. A costly error during the final Wildcard race of the season.

Williams trialed their '0-0' package during FP1 of the Belgian Grand Prix. Tirowee powered to the fastest time in FP1 on Mediums, from Albon and Piastri on Softs. Sargeant ran strongly to 5th on Mediums. Tirowee again was at the top at the end of FP2, this time on Softs. Albon was second again, this time on Mediums. When the track dried in FP3, Williams dominated. Albon and Sargeant were almost a second clear of Norris in third. Tirowee and Albon pulled clear of the field to complete the front row for the race. Rain retuned for the race, all drivers started on Inters. Albon got the launch he needed, but Tirowee held the inside line and the lead. Rain looked set to remain for the rest of the race. Tirowee pit for a new set of Inters on lap 11. Albon ran longer on to attack in the second stint. Albon put in a mighty final stint but Tirowee was too far in front. Tirowee (+FL) won by four seconds from Albon, who finally secured his and the team's first podium of the season. Sargeant raced well to 7th. Williams closed to 13 points behind Alpine in the battle for 7th.