There are already a number of drivers in the F1 field who can empathize with Liam Lawson’s situation, one of them being Williams’ Alex Albon. What he now advises the demoted New Zealander:
Consolation for Liam Lawson from someone who knows exactly how the New Zealander feels: Alex Albon also failed at Red Bull against Max Verstappen, and after a year and a half with the team, he had to take his leave at the end of 2020. Unlike Lawson, however, he did not return to the junior team. The following year, Albon took a break from Formula 1 to race in the DTM. In 2022, he then managed to return to the premier class with Williams, and today he has matured into a seasoned Grand Prix driver with the team from Grove.
With regard to Lawson, the Thai-Brit explains: “Of course it’s a difficult situation. At some point you feel for Liam, because it was certainly not an easy start for him. The season is now so tightly contested that you can’t afford to be six or seven-tenths slower in races.” The midfield has caught up overall, “so no one can afford to be that far behind,” says Albon.
But what made the situation “particularly difficult” for Lawson: “As this is the last year of these regulations, the cars are perfectly tuned to their teams and drivers. It’s a challenge when you come from a car that, as I know from my own experience, is not easy to drive and has to be driven in a certain way.”
Albon on Lawson: ‘Could still be a good story’
Accordingly, Albon believes that the New Zealander must now make a virtue out of necessity and focus on the positive, “that he has a great chance of getting back into a car he feels comfortable in. Then this can still be a good story for him,” the Williams driver believes.
What Lawson has to do for it? “How amazing would it be if he achieves a strong result this weekend and gets himself talked about again, just like he did before the season started? It’s an opportunity for him to hit back hard.”
However, the same applies to Tsunoda, who now also has a great opportunity in front of him: “I’m happy that he has it. He has wanted this cockpit for a long time and now it is there. I think he has the right attitude to take on this challenge, because you can’t be afraid of it – you have to embrace it, be confident and believe in yourself,” explains Albon.
Opportunity still there: ‘You can grow from something like this’
At the same time, however, the Williams driver also warns against the media overdramatization of the Red Bull castling: “It’s not a matter of life or death. Both drivers have their respective chances and I hope they will take them, even though they are very different challenges now, of course.”
In terms of his own path, however, the situation cannot be compared entirely, Albon finds, “because I had to wait a year. I definitely felt like I had to prove myself after my comeback. I wanted to show that I wasn’t as bad as it seemed at the end of 2020,” explains the current Williams driver, who says he used the resulting energy ‘not in the sense of being an underdog, but more as a kind of inner determination’.
Albon believes: ”It’s this fighting spirit that allows you to show what you’re really made of. It’s a powerful tool. I still remember my first qualifying session at Williams. I was 15th in Q1 and made it into Q2. That may not have been a big deal for others, but for me it was a defining moment. I felt like I was right back in the flow. And I don’t see why Liam shouldn’t be able to do the same.” For the 29-year-old, one thing is certain: “You can grow from something like that.”
Although he has only read a fraction of what Red Bull team boss Christian Horner said after the latest driver change, he definitely agrees with his former boss on one thing: “I am convinced that this does not mean the end of his career for Liam. It just depends on what he makes of this situation. He is still young and inexperienced, but I know Liam, I also raced with him in the DTM. I know how fast he is: he will strike back.”
