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Alex Albon is one name that has been gaining a lot of hype recently. During the summer break, it was even claimed that as many as five F1 teams have been in contact with him as his contract comes to an end next season. The names of the teams are not clear as of now but what is clear is that the driver has gained a lot of hype in the last couple of seasons with Williams.
Even his qualifying effort in the 2023 F1 Dutch GP was appreciated by a lot of people for the level at which he had performed in that car. By doing all of this though, what he has truly done is establish himself as an interesting prospect that the teams are starting to keep an eye on.
However, beyond all of this, there is one important question. How legitimate is the hype behind Alex Albon? How good is he? Let's find out as we take a look at his career and see how he has fared at different stages.
We will start with his career from 2016 when he was competing for the GP3 championship.
Alex Albon's career highlights
GP3 Championship (2016)
Alex Albon went up against Charles Leclerc for the title in GP3. The battle was quite close between the two drivers and Albon actually won more races than Charles that season (four compared to three).
In the end, it was Leclerc who came out on top and won the title with a margin of 25 points at the top of the standings.
Formula 2 Championship (2017-18)
Both Alex Albon and Charles Leclerc graduated together to F2 in 2017. However, unlike Leclerc, who completely blitzed the field, Albon did not enjoy the same type of success. Leclerc will comfortably win the title that year while Albon will finish the season in 10th with one pole position and two podiums all season.
The 2018 F1 season was much better for Albon though as he raced against the likes of George Russell and Lando Norris. Albon saw a lot more success that season and finished the championship in third, just a few points behind Lando.
The season also featured four wins and three pole positions for the driver.
Formula 1 (2019-Present)
Torro Rosso (2019)
He debuted in F1 alongside Daniil Kvyat in Torro Rosso. His stay at the team would however be shortlived as he was skyrocketed to a Red Bull car by the second half of the season. In the 12-race short stint with the team, Albon's record against his teammate was arguably not as impressive.
He was 5-7 down in qualifying and in the race he was 4-8. Red Bull did however see something in the driver to give him a promotion.
Red Bull (2019-20)
The partnership with Max Verstappen was a complete disaster for Albon. The driver will only end up with just two podiums in 2020 and a total of 105 points to his name. Compared to Verstappen's numbers, a driver that won as many races as the podiums by Albon shows the kind of disparity between the two drivers.
It was not a surprise when the end of the 2020 F1 season meant curtains for Alex Albon as he was replaced by Sergio Perez at Red Bull.
Williams (2022-Present)
After a year away from the sport, Albon found his way back in F1 with Williams and since then he has not looked back. He completely demolished Nicholas Latifi, a driver who had to leave the sport at the end of 2022.
The 2023 F1 season has been no different, Albon has been brilliantly impressive. This time around it is Logan Sargeant who is facing the short end of the stick.
This is where we find ourselves today and after looking at his career in its entirety, let's see if we can answer the questions in a better manner.
Is Albon overrated?
To answer this question, what we need to ask first of all is how is he rated. Is he now considered to be one of the best drivers on the grid? Is he considered to be one of the elites on the grid-like George Russell or Charles Leclerc? Or is he looked at as a driver who is more of the ilk of Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon?
If there are suggestions that Alex Albon is one of the elite drivers in F1, in that case, it is safe to say that the driver is overrated. Throughout his junior career and his career in Formula 1, there is one thing that is pretty clear.
Albon is maybe a step behind the likes of Charles Leclerc, George Russell, and Lando Norris. Even in a spec series, he's found it hard to keep up with them and we all saw what happened when he was teamed up with Max Verstappen.
However, if he's rated as a solid driver that could give the team solid results every weekend then yes, he deserves to be rated on those lines.
What to make of Alex Albon's stint at Williams?
We need to keep one major thing in mind when we're looking at Alex Albon's stint at Williams. That thing is the driver in the other car. In 2022 it was Nicholas Latifi and in 2023 it is a rookie in Logan Sargeant who has been notoriously erratic throughout his career.
Will Alex Albon look this good against the elites in F1? I doubt it. Albon is setting the benchmark at Williams and while that is a great thing to do, it can lead to misconceptions about your perceived level in an F1 car.
Alex Albon is a very strong driver who will have a solid career in F1. But is he someone who could be looked at as a future champion? No, he's not.
