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“I Want My Seat Back” – Alex Albon Affirmative Sends Strong Message to Red Bull Racing

Published 02/24/2021, 3:22 AM EST

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via Reuters

Alex Albon announced himself on the grid when he drove from P17 to P5 in his first race at the Belgian Grand Prix in 2019. He replaced Pierre Gasly after the latter struggled to keep the same pace as Max Verstappen in his RB15. But things did not end well for the Thai driver.

He impressed the Milton Keynes team enough to claim a one-year contract in 2020. However, Albon had an unspectacular season that year. As a result, he was demoted as replacement driver and Sergio Perez replaced him in the team.

The Thai driver explained in a public statement that the turn of events was hurtful. In a recent interview, he vowed that he will come back to Formula 1 again.

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via Reuters

“It has happened to me in the past that I was dumped (it was Red Bull who excluded him from its junior program at the end of the 2012 season) and in the end I said to myself: how much do you care?

“Well, a lot, and the motivation comes back, as I am motivated now. I did it once and I can do it again, and I want that seat back,” said the Thai driver.

Who Owns the Red Bull F1 Team?

Alex Albon explains how he is dealing with such a period

Alex Albon’s Red Bull seat was being questioned during the mid-2020 season. The team maintained that Albon had their full support: however, it must have been difficult to perform under such immense pressure with less than a year’s F1 experience under the belt.

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The Thai driver explains his way of dealing with the demotion. “I’ve been through this kind of situation many times in my racing career, so it wasn’t all that depressing, let’s put it this way… we’re not talking about violence!”

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“However, it is a question of not losing self-confidence, of maintaining motivation and trying to recover immediately,” said the Thai driver.

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Alex Albon will start at the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters championship driving for Red Bull and he understands now it’s all about showing the team that he has the capability to win races. His performance at DTM will be critical to his path back to Red Bull, if there even is one.

Do you think Albon will have a shot at redemption?

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Written by:

Ayush Manjunath

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Ayush Manjunath is a Formula 1 author for EssentiallySports with more than 500 articles to his name. A Law graduate and a current Sports Management student, Ayush also has a certificate from UCLA on Sports, Media and Entertainment Management. He has an undying love for motorsports and lives to see Max Verstappen, George Russell, Charles Leclerc, and Lando Norris battle for the championship one day!
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