It’s not the first time Albon has been ‘punished’ by Red Bull, so he’ll take his previous experience to apply what he’s learned
Alexander Albon is determined to return to Formula 1 in 2022 after that Sergio Perez replaced him at Red Bull after the 2021 season.
Albon ran for two years in F1, completing half a season with Red Bull junior team Toro Rosso before being promoted to the senior team in mid-2019.
However, his first full season with Red Bull in 2020 did not go as planned and scored less than half of his teammate’s points Max Verstappen.
After the last race of the season, Red Bull announced that Albon would become the organization’s reserve driver and would be replaced by Mexican driver Checo Perez.
“Of course he was disappointing, he will always be disappointing; this is our dream,” he admitted to the media at an online press conference. “Very fast to be honest. It was one of those things where you don’t feel sorry for yourself. You have to do it again and do everything you can to get it back.”
“My goal, of course, is to be back in a seat for next year and be ready for that as well. You never know what will happen to (another driver’s) fitness with the COVID. that this winter has been kind to me and I have prepared to be as ready as I can, in the best way possible, to do all the things of the simulator and even, hopefully, get a few days in which I can drive , do some tire testing and stuff like that. “
Albon’s history with Red Bull dates back to his go-karting era when he received support from the company before he was removed from the young pilots program due to poor results in 2012.
He said he has learned lessons from his past experience with the brand and that he will apply them to his current situation.
“Like you said, I’ve been left before. It hasn’t been the first time, but what I learned was, at the end of the day, how much do you want?”
“I want him, I’d say more than anyone on the grill and with that comes a lot of determination and I won’t stop at any point, so for me it’s just about focusing.”
“I overcame it before. I’ve been able to get to where I am thanks to all the hard work I’ve done and, like I said, I want that back seat.”
In addition to his role as a Red Bull reserve driver, Albon will compete in select wheels in the DTM series this year in a Ferrari GT3 backed by Red Bull.