• The fact is that Alex Albon was not on any F1 team's radar before 2019.
• His see-sawing junior career has turned out to be a template for his zero-to-hero-to-zero stint in F1. • Red Bull had given him a shot; he clearly exceeded expectations in 2019. • For more motoring stories, go to www.Wheels24.co.za
Alex Albon's childhood dream came true at the end of November 2018.
"It's such an amazing feeling to know that I'm in Formula One next year," Albon said at the time. "Throughout my single-seater career, I went through a few ups and downs. I was dropped by Red Bull in 2012, so from then I knew my road to F1 was going to be a lot harder. I worked really hard and tried to impress every time I got in the car, and I have to say a big thank you to Red Bull and Dr Marko for believing in me and giving me a second chance… To be given this opportunity is just incredible."
One year later, on 7 December 2019, Albon was crowned Formula One Rookie of the Year at the FIA's annual prize-giving event in Paris. Only the sky seemed the limit.
Except it wasn't to be. Instead in 2020, the mythical – and frustrating – limit would turn out to be that of the eternally edgy RB16, tamed by team mate Max Verstappen's insurmountable adaptability. And Albon's own inability to repeat the trick.
Now, with no poles, fastest laps or wins in 2020; and zero points from four races, Albon is nearly guaranteed to lose his Red Bull seat – and his F1 career over.
Dumbfounded, devastated and dejected, his bestial epoch will be another addition to the scrapheap that festers at the dead-end of Formula One's boulevard of broken dreams.
There is no sport as impatient as F1; and no team as brutally demanding as Red Bull. As a cautionary tale, that much is clear.
Too good to be true?
Alex Albon's see-sawing junior career has turned out to be a template for his zero-to-hero-to-zero stint in F1. He was backed by Red Bull in his karting days, winning several series in and around Europe, culminating in a second place in the FIA Karting World Championship in 2011.
Three seasons in Formula Renault 2.0 followed, where he finished 38th in 2012 – when he lost his Red Bull backing, 16th in 2013 and 3rd in 2014. He moved up to the FIA Formula 3 European championship in 2015, ending seventh; with a career-best of runner-up to Charles Leclerc in 2016's GP3 championship. 2017 and 2018 would be spent in Formula 2, wherein the latter year he placed third in the standings.
All too aware that nowadays junior drivers only get placed in F1 through their association with manufacturers; and not having any contact with Red Bull since 2012, by the end of 2018 Albon recognised how slim his F1 prospects had become. As the next best thing to his mind, he tested and signed for the Nissan e.dams Formula E team for the upcoming 2018-2019 season.
Only in November 2018 to through what seemed like divine intervention receive a surprise call from Red Bull's motorsport advisor, Helmut Marko; getting immediately released from his Nissan contract and signing for Toro Rosso, and thereby becoming only the second Thai driver in F1 history.
At 2019's season opener in Melbourne, Albon outqualified teammate Daniil Kvyat. Just one race later at Bahrain, he scored his first F1 points. In China, he started last but finished 10th, earning the Driver of the Day award. More points were bagged at Monaco, Germany and Hungary.
It was magic – and the best was still to come. On 12 August 2019, Red Bull announced their intention to drop the struggling Pierre Gasly who had been comprehensively outpaced by Max Verstappen throughout the season, swopping him with Albon from the Spa round onwards.
In retrospect, this should have been a warning sign, but success can be blinding. For all the sacrifice throughout his early career, nirvana came knocking and wasn't to be denied: fourth at Suzuka; fifth places at Spa, Sochi, Mexico and CoTA; and a set of sixth places at Monza, Singapore and Abu Dhabi. Second was on the cards at Interlagos before he was rammed off the road by Lewis Hamilton. By year's end, he'd tallied a total of 92 points – good enough for eighth in the drivers' championship: not bad for a rookie season spent with two different teams.
But then came 2020
February's pre-season tests at Barcelona immediately revealed the RB16 to be a tricky car. Its twitchiness stems from the loose rear so demanded by the rapid direction change upon corner entry; a legacy of having a design DNA defined by a power deficit since its Renault days, as lacking straight-line speed can only be regained through the corners. But the pursuit and acceptance of that turn-in limit requires confidence, which is where Verstappen has excelled at in 2020 – and Albon has fallen painfully and very obviously short; further hampered by the fact that a team will develop a car to suit their fastest driver, never the slowest.
Red Bull, having gained notoriety for its promoting, demoting or firing underperforming drivers on a whim, have now lost patience with Albon, who despite a podium at Mugello now languishes in 9th on the points ladder; and have already publicly stated their interest in Sergio Perez and Nico Hülkenberg as Albon's likeliest replacements for 2021.
If the "How did we get here?" is too painful to contemplate, then "What happens now?" is even worse.
The fact is that Alex Albon was not on any F1 team's radar before 2019. Red Bull had given him a shot; he clearly exceeded expectations in 2019. Still, in 2020 he has fallen short by being of zero assistance to Verstappen in the championship fight against Mercedes. If Red Bull no longer wants him based on his current lack of form – why would anybody else? In mitigation, as was the case with Gasly, being paired with one of the quickest drivers in F1 does not help either.
Two things create pressure in F1: opportunity and mistakes. In 2019, Albon had the opportunity, but no pressure. But in 2020 there were both as his resulting overcompensating only sped up the vortex of his demise.
Tragically, his second chance was the last dance; and the latest addition to the crowded graveyard of Red Bull's former failed F1 flings: Scott Speed, Brendon Hartley, Robert Doornbos, Christian Klien, Vitantonio Liuzzi, Sebastien Bourdais, Sebastian Buemi, Jamie Alguersuari, Jean-Eric Verne and Daniil Kvyat (who's also out of a seat by year's end).
Thanks for the memories, Alex. You weren't the first and won't be the last. But look beyond today, and you'll never walk alone again.
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