“Everything you do gets criticized”: Alex Albon opens up about his Red Bull switch from Torro Rosso in 2019

Williams F1 driver Alex Albon opened up about the massive scrutiny he faced during his time in Red Bull.

The Thai driver was promoted to the Austrian team after just six months at Toro Rosso in the middle of the 2019 season to replace the underperforming Pierre Gasly.

While appearing on the High-Performance Podcast, Alex Albon emphasized that he got criticized by the media for everything he did. He accepted that he wasn't used to the level of scrutiny before joining Red Bull, saying:

“Truthfully, for me especially, the biggest thing to get used to was everything around it. Once you’re in that top team, the spotlight gets put on you far, far more than what it was like at Toro Rosso."

He added:

“The first race that I went to, it was in Belgium, and the attention around this whole seat swap was massive and every mistake, everything you do, gets criticized. It’s quite a hot seat – the seat that I was in, it’s been moved around a fair bit – so that was one of the main things.”

Alex Albon speaks about his lack of media training before Red Bull

Alex Albon stated that he struggled with the media scrutiny he received during his time at Red Bull.

He spoke about the lack of support around him and not having a manager to deal with the media attention, saying (via F1.com):

“I struggled with the media attention to begin with. I also didn’t have a manager, I didn’t have anyone around me. So in terms of my personal support, I had my family but I was just going about it alone. I’d go to the racetrack by myself – I had my trainer to be fair, but it was just us two going around."

He added:

“I realized when that year finished, mentally I had no energy left. The thing that also played a big part was trying to act like you weren’t being affected by it. Putting that smile on [for the cameras] or walking into the paddock with a smile on your face, all of that stuff eventually tore me down."

Alex Albon was eventually dropped by Red Bull at the end of the 2020 season and had to sit out a year before joining Williams at the beginning of 2022, where he has thrived thus far.

With his performances, he has once again found himself in the mix for a seat in the top teams. It seems like a matter of time before he gets another shot at proving his talent at the front of the grid.