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Formula for rust gambling3/20/2023 ![]() This was far from the first setback of Albon's career. It was almost like, what can you do without driving the car?" A very personal blow And I knew I had to really do what it takes, in a way that was quite strange because I can't actually prove myself. "I would say I want F1 more than any other driver. 'OK, what's my job, how am I going to get back into F1?' And I kind of had a goal and a plan to do that. I was in the simulator very early in January. "Very, very quickly - almost within a day - there was no other thought other than: 'I'm going to get back on the grid.' I only saw a Plan A. And I have to say, first, I have a very strong network of people. And it was like: 'Wow, OK.' It did hit me hard, as it would anyone."Īlbon's voice falters as he talks, and his eyes well up a little. It was a true fast-track from Toro Rosso into one of the very top teams in the sport and then out. ![]() "It's a brutal business - and how quickly everything came about. ![]() You inevitably hit this heartbreak where it is like, almost: 'OK, is this the end? And you've only spent two years in it.' "I had dreamed of being in F1 since I was four years old, almost completely obsessed with it. I knew there was a strong chance of it happening. ![]() "I felt like I didn't perform that season. "I would be lying if I told you I didn't expect it," Albon says. Albon secured his first Formula 1 podium while driving for Red Bull in 2020 at the Bahrain Grand Prix They liked and respected him, so kept him on as reserve driver. The rest of that season went pretty well, and he was kept on for 2020, but he struggled to get close to team-mate Verstappen and by the end of the year Red Bull had decided to remove him from the seat. Within six months, Albon had gone from ignored by F1 to a seat in one of the best cars on the grid. With Pierre Gasly struggling following his promotion to the senior team, Red Bull swapped them around. His first half-season was impressive, culminating in an eye-catching drive in the wet German Grand Prix. Albon negotiated a way out of his contract with Nissan in the all-electric Formula E series and joined Toro Rosso. Their motorsport adviser Helmut Marko, who had dropped Albon from their driver programme after a difficult season in 2012, offered him a seat for 2019. But by the end of 2018, as their F1 careers were taking off, he had pretty much given up on the idea of making it at the top of the sport, until Red Bull found themselves without a driver for their junior team. Two years ago, it looked as though Albon's career was coming to an end before it had really got going.Īlbon was a close rival of Max Verstappen, Charles Leclerc and George Russell in karting. I feel very fortunate." 'Is this the end? After two years?' "I've had very good doctors around me, who were in Italy, to get me back into a good place. "In terms of setbacks, it's a small one really," he says. He even describes the recent medical emergency in which he suffered respiratory failure after an appendectomy over the weekend of the Italian Grand Prix as "not a big deal". His story is one of resilience - of numerous knocks through his life from which he has drawn on remarkable reserves of self-belief to bounce back each time. After a series of starring performances, Albon has signed a new multi-year contract. A year as their test driver led to a seat at Williams for this season. ![]() In an exclusive interview with BBC Sport, he's discussing the rollercoaster ride that has carried him to Williams, where he has emerged as one of the low-key stars of the year.ĭropped by Red Bull at the end of 2020, Albon set about reconstructing his career. I've only got to put everything on the table.'"Īlbon - a likeable 26-year-old, born in London, brought up in England, but racing as a Thai - has been one of Formula 1's feel-good stories of 2022. "And I think: 'Well, I've only got to give it my all. ![]()
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