Red Bull Team Principal Praises Albon: 'He’s A Hot Property Again'

Wednesday, 15 November 2023 at 09:00

Red Bull Racing F1 team principal Christian Horner talked about Alex Albon and the progress he made recently driving for the Williams team.

Alex Albon started his F1 career in Torro Rosso, but in the middle of his rookie season, he was dragged into the seat of Red Bull and thrown into deep waters to learn to swim alongside Max Verstappen.

However, Red Bull's plan did not turn out well, as Albon needed a bit more time to gain experience before he would be ready for the Red Bull seat.

The team kept the 27-year-old for one and a half seasons and then changed him for Sergio Perez. Appearing on the Eff Won podcast Christian Horner reflected on the situation:

"I remember we were struggling at the time with Alex Albon, because he had come in too soon and we just needed somebody."

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The team then substituted Albon with Perez for season 2021, who showed great potential, achieving incredible results for the Racing Point F1 team.

"Checo at the time, at the end of ’20, he’d just won that race in Bahrain from the back of the grid and it was like, ‘We need somebody with a chunk of experience, that brings another dimension to being Max’s team-mate.'"

The Mexican driver played a key role in helping Verstappen secure his first World Championship title during the 2021 season.

On the other hand, Horner recognizes Albon's contributions to the team even during times when he wasn't part of the two-driver Red Bull line-up.

"Yeah, he’s brilliant, he’s fantastic, and he did a fantastic job for us when he stepped down to be test driver."

Ever since joining Williams, Albon seemed to have gained more confidence and speed with every race. Performance-wise, Albon is currently one of the most attractive drivers on the grid. Horner added:

"He never complained, he never moaned, he put in the hours, and I was really happy I was able to find him a seat in Williams, and he’s found his form, he’s got the experience now, he’s toughened for sure, and he’s a hot property again."