Alex Albon wishes to find a seat in 2022
The Thai driver stated that he wanted to return to F1 as soon as possible, but he knows full well that a comeback in 2022 will be complicated, due to the limited number of available seats.
Demoted to the position of reserve driver after poor results within the Red Bull team, Alex Albon wants to secure a full-time seat as of next year. Although he is happy with his role in the Austrian team, the Thai driver wants to rediscover the joys of the track.
« I have a very different vision of things now. I see what is happening in the factory behind the scenes, the development work, and I see the things we are working on in the simulator to go on track. It is very rewarding, but of course, it is not what I want to do in the long term. But it is very interesting to see, and I am learning from Max (Verstappen) and Checo (Perez), he said to the F1 website.
« We cannot lie and say it’s easy. We can say that last year was mentally challenging, but this year is just as hard, if not harder because you go on circuits without racing.
« It’s a different feeling, you want to be there, you want to drive. We are all born racers and we want to be on the track, so it’s tricky. This year is mostly about motivating yourself and trying to see if there is a chance to come back next year.
Few options for 2022
After a season without getting behind the wheel of an F1 car, Alex Albon believes that a break of two years or more could be detrimental to him. The Thai driver claims that with the constant evolution of single-seaters, cars are becoming more delicate to drive.
« In terms of age, no I am not too old. But Formula 1 evolves relatively quickly. More than a year later, the car becomes tricky to drive. A break of a year is all you can do. That’s what Esteban (Ocon) did. Fernando Alonso is a different example, but Fernando is Fernando!
« The car is evolving so fast, the technology is improving. There is no series that is close to F1. You can’t leave and do things differently. It’s therefore a maximum of one year. I now have to push and make sure that I can do everything I can and also be myself active, look around me, see what is there for me. »
However, there remains a major problem for Albon, which is the lack of seats for 2022. Currently, few seats are available on the grid next year and those that could become available already have many contenders, such as Williams, which claims to have many options in case George Russell leaves for Mercedes.
« There is not much (elsewhere on the grid). In some ways, I depend on others who are not performing. This is just the driver market in F1.
« I was lucky when I joined F1 with Daniel (Ricciardo)’s departure, it changed everything. But this year, it seems a bit stuck for the moment. If a seat is not available here (at Red Bull), there are a few teams with openings, it’s just a matter of waiting and seeing what happens.
Everyone has been kind to me at Red Bull, whether it’s Helmut (Marko) or Christian (Horner). I’m sure that if an opportunity arose, they would be ready to help and support me. I am confident that the role of reserve driver would still be an option as well. For now, my goal is F1, we have to see if there is a place, we will see,” he concluded.
