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Alex Albon revealed that he wanted to prove his critics wrong with his 2022 campaign. The Williams driver believes his experience at Red Bull has helped him bring more insights and knowledge to his new team.
Speaking to Reuters in Spain, he said:
“Going into this year I wanted to prove people wrong. I wanted to show my fortitude and show people, I guess, redemption really. I’ve always felt like I’ve been able to drive a car quickly and now I feel given another chance with more experience and a bit more knowledge about the global side of Formula 1, and that comes from everything.”
Alex Albon was promoted to Red Bull in 2019 after Pierre Gasly's demotion to AlphaTauri and managed to secure a drive in the big team for 2020 as well. Unfortunately, his performances in the 2020 F1 season left much to be desired and he seemed to crumble under the pressure of driving alongside Max Verstappen.
In 2021, he was replaced by Sergio Perez and spent a year without an F1 seat. During this time, he worked on the simulator and helped Max Verstappen and Red Bull clinch the World Drivers' Championship. Moreover, he acted as AlphaTauri's Yuki Tsunoda's driving coach in 2021
Albon said he has been fortunate enough to receive another shot in the sport with Williams and would like to prove his critics wrong. Speaking of his hiatus away from the sport, he said:
“A lot of what I was doing was on the simulator and communicating with the engineers in understanding very simply what makes the car quick, and so it is a feeling like I’ve come into this year prepared and in a better place mentally as well than I was in 2020. At the same time I also feel like 2020 gets a bit more flak than it [deserves]. It was a tough year of course but when I look at it now, with the hindsight I do have, I was very inexperienced at that time.”
He further stated that he believes his drive in 2020 received more criticism than it perhaps deserved, saying that he was simply too inexperienced at the time.
Alex Albon believes Williams will be competitive in the midfield in 2022
The Williams driver believes that despite having had a slow start to the 2022 season, his team will be able to redeem itself as the season progresses. The former Red Bull driver claimed that the Grove-based team will be capable of fighting McLaren and AlphaTauri in the midfield later this season.
Looking forward to the rest of the 2022 season, Alex Albon revealed:
“At the start of the season we were a little bit on the back foot but we’ve done some big things. I feel like if we can find that next little bit, we’ll be right there regularly with the McLarens, the AlphaTauris.”
Despite his race being compromised in Spain due to the damage to his floor, the Thai-British driver was still more competitive than his teammate Nicholas Latifi. Managing to score points in two out of the six outings in 2022, Alex Albon has helped the team score three points in the World Constructors' Championship, while his Canadian teammate is yet to score a point this season.
