Megan Taylor
William's leading driver, Alexander Albon, has been a competitive driver from the young age of 8 and has competed in 7 different series. The British Thai driver sure knows his way around a circuit. So, let’s take a look at his career.
2012
RED BULL RACING JUNIOR TEAM
Albon drew the attention of Red Bull racing when he was in karting. He was offered a spot on their junior team in 2012. However, after a year, he left the program after a tough season.
2015
EUROPEAN FORMULA 3
After an impressive karting career throughout his younger years, Albon landed himself in the European Formula 3 division. In 2015, he drove for signature. Out of 36 drivers, Albon finished in 7th place, just behind fellow Formula 1 driver George Russell. Albon also raced alongside Charles Leclerc, who finished 4th in the standings. He earned himself 2 pole positions, 4 rookie wins and 5 podiums.
2016
GP3
Albon battled Charles Leclerc during the GP3 series. He won 4 races and ultimately came runner-up to the Monegasque driver.
2017
FORMULA 2 ART
Albon continued his racing career with ART. His debut season was starting rather successfully until he suffered an injury. A broken collarbone caused him to miss Baku. But it wasn’t long until he returned to the driver's seat. In round 5, the British Thai driver was back and ready to catch up. He qualified 3rd in his first race back and finished in 5th place. His final result for his first Formula 2 season was 10th.
2018
FORMULA 2 DAMS
In 2018, Albon’s second year in Formula 2, he was announced to drive for DAMS. Alongside the now-previous Williams driver, Nicholas Latifi. Albon’s second season was more successful, with 8 podiums, of which 4 were 1st place—finishing 3rd in the 2018 season. Alex proved he was a strong driver.
FORMULA E
Nissan E.DAMS signed Albon for their Formula E team. However, Red Bull Racing had other ideas. They offered him something every driver dreams of; an F1 seat.
2019
FORMULA 1 TORO ROSSO
Albon was officially released by DAMS, and Red Bull Racing announced their new Toro Rosso driver for 2019. The British Thai driver’s journey had circled back after his early Red Bull release.
A low 14th finish for his first Formula 1 race wasn’t the exact start to hope for, but luckily he proved himself when he scored his first points the following race with an impressive 9th place for a rookie.
A mid-season seat change saw Albon being tested for the Red Bull seat. The higher level of the Red Bull racing teams. French man Pierre Gasly was demoted to Toro Rosso, and Albon was to step up. He had a total of 9 races to prove he was elite enough for the full-time seat.
He provided respectful results during his time as Red Bull’s second driver. Considering it was his debut year in Formula 1 and being put into a more developed car with no real testing or marginal notice, he managed to provide top 5 finishes.
He almost got the taste of victory in Brazil. However, a heart breaking hit from the seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton cost him his first-place podium.
Despite not winning a first-place race, he did win Rookie of the Year and completed his debut Formula 1 season with 92 points.
Finishing 8th in his debut season with all the changes was impressive for the young driver.
2020
FORMULA 1 RED BULL
Starting the season as a Red Bull driver Albon was at the peak of his driving career. After a promising half-season, he had everything to race for. But unfortunately, his season start was not nearly as impressive as in 2019.
Albon brought home a DNF for Red Bull in the season's first round.
He did manage to achieve 2 3rd place podiums, which helped boost Red Bull in the championship alongside his teammate Max Verstappen.
His results were unpredictable. He had multiple poor qualifying, and despite overtaking his way to the points, he was still not up to Red Bulls standards.
Albon finished in 7th place, only improving by 1 place compared to his Rookie year. His teammate Max Verstappen outperformed him, and ultimately Albon’s time as a full-time driver for Red Bull was over.
2021
TEST AND RESERVE DRIVER FOR RED BULL
Mexican driver Sergio Perez replaced Albon in the 2021 season. Despite losing his seat, Alex was still a part of the Red Bull family. His new role included being a test and reserve driver. Understandably he was affected by the demotion, but he stayed motivated and aimed for a seat in the rebranded second Red Bull team Alpha Tauri.
2022 WILLIAMS
Albon moved on from Red Bull Racing once again when he was offered George Russell’s seat at Williams as he graduated to the Mercedes team.
Nicholas Latifi was his new teammate yet again. He out-qualified and outraced Latiffi multiple times, which put him ahead and got him 19th place in the championship.
This could be looked at as Alexander Albon’s fall. Although he scored points during the season, it was poor compared to his points at Red Bull and Torro Rosso. 5 DNFs and unlucky races landed him 4 points in total.
2023 WILLIAMS
Albon remained with Williams this season. However, this year he has a new teammate. After an underwhelming result from Nicholas Latifi, Williams decided to part ways with the Canadian driver and replace him with Floridan Logan Sargeant.
This is the first season Albon has taken the role of number 1 driver. He is no longer a Rookie and has completed an entire season with Williams. Red Bull still had a ‘link’ to Albon; however, as he has continued his contract with Williams, he no longer has a connection with Red Bull.
Williams has struggled to develop a competitive car for years. What once was a leading team is now rarely seen in the points. We have witnessed Albon’s capability during his Red Bull days. Whilst he does have moments of brilliant driving, many doubt he will do anything significant with this time at Williams. However, his bubbly personality and determination make him a very likeable character among the grid.
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