This weekend, Alex Albon is set to compete in his 100th Grand Prix, a significant milestone for the 28-year-old driver. Despite a career that hasn’t always been smooth sailing, Albon prefers to look ahead to the future and the upcoming seasons with Williams. Although he considers himself relatively inexperienced, he hopes to one day compete for the podium.
“It’s nice, of course, but I think we’re racing so much each year that you quickly reach a hundred,” Albon said. “At the same time, it’s still a big milestone, even though my career hasn’t always been smooth.” After a disappointing season with Red Bull, Albon was demoted to reserve driver in 2021. He returned to the grid with Williams in 2022.
The British-Thai driver has proven his undeniable talent, but still considers himself an ‘inexperienced’ participant. “I think most drivers have already raced a hundred races – in that respect, I’m relatively inexperienced,” he explained. “At the same time, it’s a good moment to reflect on my career, even though you don’t win anything with that.”
The Chase
Alexander Albon is currently primarily focused on the upcoming six Grand Prix and the battle with competitor Haas. “In recent races, we’ve often already had a faster car,” he explained. “And when we were slower, we usually had a reason for it.” Williams still needs to make up fifteen points on their American rivals – no easy task, given the competition from Visa RB and Aston Martin as well. Albon is hoping for a few ‘chaotic’ races to collect the necessary points.
“Think about the weather in Brazil, the tires in Qatar,” Albon continued. “And in Mexico, the circuit is also quite unique. We need to take advantage of such chaotic races, otherwise you won’t catch up with Haas and Visa RB. If we want to become the fifth fastest team, we have to hope for crazy Grands Prix. Then you could suddenly end up in P6 and you’re back in the race.”
Looking Ahead
Finally, Albon looked ahead to the coming seasons. Are there another hundred Grands Prix coming up? “That would be about four more years,” he calculated. “Let’s see. I’ll probably still be driving for Williams then – hopefully we’ll be fighting for the podium. That would be a great way to celebrate my two hundredth race – and a bigger cake!”
