Getting destroyed by Verstappen? 'I learned my lesson at Red Bull'

16:29, 23 Jul

byCas van de Kleut

Max Verstappen has had quite a few teammates during his time at Red Bull Racing. One of them being Alexander Albon. Despite the fact that the Thai stood on the podium twice, he was replaced by Sergio Perez after 2020. The driver, who is now in his fourth year with Williams, believes that the years with the Austrian team have greatly helped him.

Carlos Sainz is Albon's teammate at Williams this season. The Spaniard drove for Ferrari in recent years, but because Lewis Hamilton signed with Scuderia for 2025, Sainz had to leave.

This brought the four-time race winner as an experienced driver to Williams. The driver of the British team revealed that he did not understand why Red Bull did not want to put him next to Verstappen.

Albon grateful for time with Red Bull and Verstappen

In the latest episode of the Beyond the Grid podcast, Albon is, however, reminded that many people may have 'forgotten' that he once drove for Red Bull Racing.

The Thai explained that the period with the Austrian team was valuable: "I think it's really helped me yes. I don't think at the time I was experienced enough to soak it all in."

"I learned a lot from it but I kind of came into that so inexperienced at the time, I was kind of more just gathering my feet and just going for it."

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After 2020, Albon did not race in Formula 1 for a year. At this time he stayed with Red Bull, to serve as a test and reserve driver.

"I had that year away where I could reflect and think about, okay, now I have a year out, how can I get better as a racing driver? And where was, particularly Max, where was he strong and where can I learn from?"

"I think the years at Red Bull helped a lot. I think the year away from the sport helped a lot on top of that. And then when I got back into Williams. I was in a good place."