At this point, fans love to float the theory of the Red Bull 2nd seat curse. Ever since Daniel Ricciardo left the seat vacant at the end of the 2018 season, the second seat has been playing a game of hot potatoes with the drivers. Both Pierre Gasly, who immediately replaced Ricciardo, and Alex Albon, who replaced the former after a short run, couldn’t really get a handle on that car. While it seemed like Perez had provided some stability in the second seat, recently, even his performances have left little to be desired.

Curiously, both Gasly and Albon seemed to get back in touch the moment they shifted teams immediately. Gasly had an incredible run with AlphaTauri (even getting a win at Monza in 2020). Albon is putting together a great string of performances in the Williams this season, going as far as to score enough points to single-handedly fight for P7 in the constructors’ championship. Recently, Albon opened up about his dreadful run at Red Bull, and how he felt during his stint at Milton Keynes.

Alex Albon’s Red Bull struggles

Alex Albon’s struggles during his days at Red Bull are well-documented. He did not have a single pole position, fastest lap, or race win, and just had 2 podium finishes over his stint which lasted one and a half seasons. Not impressed by his performances, the Milton Keynes outfit decided to sign the experienced Sergio Perez for the 2021 season. However, his performances at Toro Rosso, and then eventually at Williams made his performance at Red Bull feel like an outlier.

Fans weren’t too impressed with Albon either. He quickly became the subject of heavy criticism and memes during his Red Bull days. One particular radio message caught the attention of fans. This seemed to be the final nail in his Red Bull coffin and was enough to make him meme material for some time to come. They called him whiny, and soft, and he did not deserve a spot in Formula 1. Even former champion Nico Rosberg joined in on the criticism.

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Speaking about this, Albon opened up recently on the High Performance Podcast. When asked if he was enjoying his time with Red Bull, Albon said, “Not at all. No. I was struggling I think, I was struggling with the attention around it. I deleted all my socials. It was very toxic, the mocking, the quotes, the becoming a laughing joke, a meme.”

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Now, thanks to his stellar performances in the Williams, Alex Albon has proved himself once again as to why he belongs in Formula One. However, even now, that radio message will continue to haunt him.

Albon’s Eifel GP radio debacle from 2020

Eifel GP 2020 was a race to forget for Alex Albon. Red Bull was not the fastest car on the grid, but they were consistently the second-fastest car in most circuits. Verstappen managed to finish P2, while Albon had to retire the car. Fighting Pierre Gasly, who was in AlphaTauri at the time, Albon expected Gasly to not fight, and let him pass.

This is when he uttered those infamous words, “They race me so hard”. This led fans to lose their collective minds and start questioning his position in Formula 1.

However, that is all in the past now. Going into Abu Dhabi, he will be fighting hard to ensure that they finish ahead of AlphaTauri and finish strong in P7 in the constructors’ championship.

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They do have a seven-point lead going into the Grand Prix, which should be enough to seal the deal.