Can Alex Albon turn bad F1 luck into a golden opportunity?
With the 70th Anniversary Grand Prix at Silverstone on us, we’ve decided to look into one of the drivers who needs to make this weekend count more than any other, Red Bull’s Alexander Albon.
Can Alex turn his recent bad luck into the perfect opportunity to showcase his clear talent and skill?
It is no secret how tumultuous the young driver programme is at Red Bull, with Helmut Marko and Christian Horner unforgiving in past scenarios involving Daniil Kvyat, and Pierre Gasly.
A dismayed and downcast Albon showed the signs of the Red Bull high pressure and expectations environment clearly getting to him in post-race interviews last weekend after what has been a tough start to the season.
It is no easy task to flourish in a team that is seemingly built around Max Verstappen and a car that is more suited towards the Dutchman’s driving style.
Close friend of Alex’s and fellow Williams driver George Russell didn’t shy away from standing up for his mate, stating after qualifying in Hungary that “I feel really bad for him because he’s being made to look like an idiot and he’s absolutely not. He’s won in everything he’s done, so I don’t know what is going on but they need to sort it out for him”.
Russell isn’t wrong, Albon has won in Formula Renault 2, GP3, and Formula 2, including an impressive third place finish in the feeder series championship in 2018 narrowly behind Russell and Norris.
There is no denying that Albon is a formidable racer on the Formula 1 track either, having shown consistent and strong form following his promotion to the main team last year, and has the potential to be the perfect teammate for Max Verstappen.
One must also take into consideration his incredibly strong showing in the first race in Austria, where through strategy he could have arguably won the race until he crashed with Lewis Hamilton, yet he still bounced back to finish fourth at the Styrian GP and fifth in Hungary.
Whilst his clash with Kevin Magnussen at the British GP was marginal and could be considered in some eyes as a racing incident, Albon pushed hard throughout the race to retain a points finish with his eighth place - something that should be commended amidst the madness that was the first race at Silverstone.
There is no doubt the safety of his seat rumours will continue to rumble in a sport that seeks as much drama off the grid as on it, but it will be up to Alex to keep his head down, stay focused and have a good weekend, something he is more than capable of.
In the words of his own Team Principal Christian Horner, “Alex has a growing reputation as a tenacious, fiercely committed racer. There is plenty of potential still to unlock.”
And, with seasoned race engineer Simon Rennie in his corner and team management that continues to show backing, there is no reason why Albon can’t succeed at Red Bull.
He has defied the odds before to reach Formula 1, and certainly has the capacity to do so again, on the track this time and cement his seat at the Milton Keynes outfit.
One can only imagine how different the narrative would have been had Albon not have had his clash with Hamilton in the opening race and had stormed to a podium or potential win.
Do you think Alex can turn around the odds this weekend? Will the team provide him the stability he needs and keep him alongside Max? What do you think? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below, and don’t forget to like and subscribe to Crash F1.
