Alexander Albon unpacks: What he really thinks about Max Verstappen and why he sees a parallel with Honda MotoGP superstar Marc Marquez
Alexander Albon has found a new home in Formula 1 as team leader at Williams. Yet the career of the Thai driver, who is only 26, already seemed to be at a crossroads when he was replaced by Sergio Perez at Red Bull at the end of 2020. In the end, it was mainly because he was too much of a drop-off compared to Max Verstappen.
On the Formula 1 podcast ‘Beyond the Grid’ he has now spoken about his time alongside Verstappen – and made a “perhaps strange comparison”, as Albon himself puts it. Namely: “Let’s take MotoGP, Marc Marquez. He has a very special driving style. It works for him, and he is also fast with it. But it’s not always easy to adopt that riding style.”
“As long as the guy delivers, the team has no reason to go for anything else. If you look at the data, it’s not like you would say, ‘Wow, this and this and this!’ Of course Max is on the limit. And he likes a car that sticks to the front of the nose. You know that. He wants to have fun. That’s not easy for the teammate. “
“‘Checo’ picked up on that last year as well. And also this year … The new rules, the new cars have shifted the balance a bit. Checo’ is doing a fantastic job, I think. But Max is enormously talented and wants to have the car a certain way. And that makes it difficult for the others,” explains Albon.
Albon: No bad word about Verstappen
Albon has no antipathy towards his former team-mate, even though he has not seen any ground against Verstappen in sporting terms and has therefore only ever been the clear number 2 in the eyes of the team. And this despite the fact that Verstappen is sometimes perceived as arrogant by some because of his relentlessly direct manner.
But he is “not arrogant at all”, Albon clarifies. For him, Verstappen is merely “very straightforward. One of the most direct, to be precise. He has a high level of self-confidence – logical when you’re a world champion. He had that before as well. “
“He also, if we’re honest, doesn’t have to be political at all. He can let the actions on the track speak for themselves. People sometimes perceive him as arrogant. But I don’t think he is at all. He is very determined, very hungry, knows what he can do. But he’s not arrogant. “
At Williams, Albon has opened a new chapter in his career. Alongside Nicholas Latifi, he is suddenly the number 1 in the team. And he wants to stay that way: “I really believe in this team and I see a great future for this team. And I want to be a part of that. “
Albon and Red Bull: “It’s complicated “
Albon, who Red Bull reportedly has certain access rights to after 2022 (“It’s complicated”), was hungry to race again after his Formula 1 sabbatical in 2021. When Williams called him, “it honestly didn’t take much. They could have offered me anything and I would have definitely said, ‘Yes, please – thank you very much’.”
Then, when he met team boss Jost Capito, he was convinced he was making the right move: “When I first came in, I could immediately sense that Jost is very passionate and motivated, and that he brings a mixture of confidence and ambition that is somehow addictive. You get the feeling with him that you can trust him.”
“I also spoke to the board members. They really wanted me. And it’s all been about the future. They’re not just thinking about next year, but five, six, seven years ahead. The people who own Williams gave me the feeling: ‘We can achieve great things. And with that I was convinced. Very simple,” says Albon.
