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Alex Albon is an F1 regular with Williams, however, his journey, including the 2021 season, wasn’t straightforward. The Thai-British driver stepped into the big leagues with Toro Rosso, but the tale has a twist. Despite competing for the F2 championship, Albon had no offers and was a free agent. Although he claimed his F1 seat with Toro Rosso in 2019, his move to the constructor was as last minute as it gets.

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Before Alex Albon signed with the Italian team, he had officially joined another series. However, the offer was rescinded, and he became a part of the traveling circus.

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Recalling the turns of events at the beginning of his F1 career, Albon shared his account of the incident and emotions before joining Toro Rosso. He said, “The build-up to it was what made it so emotional, I’d say. In 2018, I was in Formula 2. I was having a good year. I was obviously fighting George and Lando for the championship. At the time, I was a free agent, but no one was interested in me.” 

“So I signed a Formula E deal, and that was kind of my future. I was heading towards electric racing… But then the call came through from Dr. Marko and he said ‘Well there’s a space here, are you interested?’ which of course you are and it all happened so late… It felt like from December of that 2018 period to the first race, it was just a blur. It happened all so quickly.”

Read More: The Moving Reason Behind Alex Albon’s Daring New Look for the Australian GP

The Thai driver’s time in F1 got off to an amazing start, and he even got a promotion to Red Bull from Toro Rosso midway through the 2019 season. However, his career became turbulent again as early as the 2021 season.

Alex Albon discusses the 2021 season heartbreak

The Thai driver’s time at Red Bull lasted 18 months after he took over from Pierre Gasly in 2019. Sergio Perez replaced Albon for the 2021 season, which was announced after the last race of the 2020 season.

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The late announcement was also a contributing factor in Albon not securing a seat elsewhere; he was demoted to a test driver for Red Bull. When asked about his feelings following the demotion, Albon simply said, “Ah, it killed me. It was terrible.”

WATCH THIS STORY: Alex Albon’s Crazy Bet Gets Williams Racing to Dye Their Hair Red

However, following the 2021 season, the Thai pilot secured a seat and is guaranteed a drive for 2023 as well with Williams, which he hilariously confirmed.

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Written by

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Mahim Suhalka

2,204 Articles

Mahim is a senior Formula 1 writer at EssentiallySports. With a Diploma in Sports Management, he ventured into sports journalism for his sheer passion for F1. Mahim has written over 2000 articles during his tenure at ES, and his expertise is in perspective pieces and core sports coverage. Mahim’s writing flair and meticulous research work have resulted in him contributing to in-depth analysis on teams like Red Bull and Mercedes as well as Team Principals Christian Horner and Toto Wolff. His support for Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 team and their #44 driver Lewis Hamilton came naturally after being awestruck by the brilliance during his foray into F1. You can follow him on X @MahimSuhalka.

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Reubyn Coutinho

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