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Alex Albon's time as Max Verstappen's wingman could be crucial for Williams after the Thai driver revealed he hopes to use all his previous experience and knowledge in 2022.
Albon spent half of 2019 and the entire 2020 season in equal machinery to Max Verstappen at Red Bull. He was, however, consistently outshone by the reigning world champion.
Now at Williams after a fruitful year away from F1, Albon shared his thoughts ahead of the new season in an interview with RacingNews365. The former Red Bull man said:
“It’s been a year where we’ve been really pushing hard to get a seat in Formula 1, and to have the opportunity to be with Williams, an up-and-coming team, and a team that has got great investment behind them, people who care for the team... Jost [Capito] as well is pushing hard to get the car more and more up the grid, [so] it’s very exciting to be a part of.”
According to Max Verstappen, Alex Albon's inputs during development in 2020 were vital to Red Bull's cause in the 2021 world championship battle with Mercedes.
The 25-year-old was pleased to see the Dutchman win the world championship despite not having an F1 drive for the season. Albon went on to add, saying:
“F1 is a team sport and it doesn’t matter if you’re driving or not; there was a lot of satisfaction in seeing Max win the championship, you feel very much a part of that in some way, as does everyone else at the factory at Red Bull. I was very happy for him and, at the same time, during that year, there was a lot of experience gained. I spent a lot of time in the debriefs listening to Max and Checo [Sergio Perez] and seeing things from a different perspective, seeing how they work, seeing what they like in the car and testing things for them. It was quite eye-opening.”
Max Verstappen signs staggering new long-term deal with Red Bull
Max Verstappen has committed his talents to Red Bull for the foreseeable future after inking a massive deal with the team.
The 24-year-old put pen to paper earlier this month and is expected to stay with the Milton-Keynes-based outfit through until 2028.
Red Bull boss Christian Horner was ecstatic with the news of Verstappen's renewal on the back of his maiden world title. He said:
“To have Max signed with Red Bull through to the end of ‘28 is a real statement of intent. Our immediate focus is on retaining Max’s world championship title, but this deal also shows he is part of the team’s long-term planning. With the Red Bull Powertrains division working towards the new engine regulations for 2026 we wanted to make sure we had the best driver on the grid secured for that car.”
According to a report by De Telegraaf in the Netherlands, the Dutchman's new deal is worth €50 million ($54.6 million). If true, it will make him the highest paid driver on the grid, even ahead of seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton.
