Alex Albon certain of Red Bull success as Williams F1 star eyed by top teams
Alex Albon feels he is better placed to challenge Max Verstappen if given another chance with Red Bull than he was during their first spell as team-mates.
The British-Thai racer spent 18 months with Red Bull across the 2019 and 2020 seasons. And that opportunity came very early in his Formula 1 career - he had just 12 races of experience under his belt with sister team AlphaTauri when he was called up to replace the struggling Pierre Gasly.
Albon got more time than the Frenchman but still spent that whole period in Verstappen's shadow. He lost his place on the F1 grid when Sergio Perez replaced him but, after a year out, he returned in 2022 with Williams.
Points-scoring opportunities have not been regular with his new team, but he has rarely failed to grab them when they have come along. After two seasons with Williams, Albon has not only re-established himself on the grid but caught the eye of other teams further up the paddock with his performances.
Armed with the experience and skill he has now, aged 27, he feels he would be able to settle in a lot better than he managed during his Red Bull spell. "Other drivers who went through difficult phases in their careers, like Daniel [Ricciardo] at McLaren, had a hard time feeling comfortable in the car," he told Motorsport Total.
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"So we tried to make me feel comfortable in the Red Bull. That somehow never really worked out. With the knowledge I have today, I could have done it. But in hindsight it's easy to say.
"The bottom line is that I feel that going through these difficult months and race weekends has made me even better and more focused in this area, I have a better understanding of what feedback I need to provide. I have stronger self-confidence today. I know better what the car has to be like in order to perform better.
"When I sit in these meetings, not only with the engineers on the track, but also with the aerodynamicists and technicians in the factory, with the people who are developing the car for next year, then today I know much better what I'm talking about. I understand the car and its strengths and weaknesses better. Then, you have the courage to say more.
"At Red Bull I still had to learn, so I wasn't able to provide much feedback on where I wanted the car to go because I first had to learn to understand what the car actually does and why."
With three-quarters of the grid out of contract in the next 12 months, the driver market is set to be very active this year and Albon could be a key player in that. As it stands, Red Bull are not seriously considering bringing their former racer back, but other top teams definitely do hold an interest, most notably Ferrari who were particularly impressed with his performances in 2023.
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