Red Bull consultant Helmut Marko points a finger at seven-time Formula 1 World Champion Lewis Hamilton for (inadvertently or not) contributing to Alex Albon’s failure as a Red Bull driver as teammate to Max Verstappen.
After being promoted to Red Bull from the 2019 Belgian Grand Prix teammate, Albon began his ill-fated two-season tenure sharing an F1 garage with Verstappen. A torrid time in the likeable Thai driver’s career; apart from having a ‘monster’ teammate in the Dutchman, Albon was also in the thick of things at the sharp end.
After mid-grid anonymity at Toro Rosso, 13 races into his F1 career he was suddenly battling at the front, with the ‘Big Boys’ including Hamilton. This proved to be a big ask for the rookie. Indeed a number of incidents are down in history where Albon banged wheels with the #44 Mercedes.
One of those incidents, after an on-track altercation for the same piece of tarmac with Hamilton, during the 2020 Austrian Grand Prix, in which Albon came off second best, he blurted over the radio: “This guy is such a sore loser!”
Sadly for Alex, it was he who ended the loser when Sergio Perez was signed to replace him at RBR for the 2021 season. Albon spent that next year on the sidelines of F1 before Williams came knocking and a deal was done. A good one too.
It was an almost unique opportunity which Albon seized with gusto and is proving to be the quality driver most expected he is, even with a backmarker team. One could argue Alex has been as impressive as George Russell, his impressive predecessor at the Grove outfit, now plying his trade for Mercedes alongside Hamilton.
The ‘Hamilton-Effect’ took a toll on Alex during his time with RBR
As a guest on the latest Inside Line F1 podcast Marko, reflecting on what might’ve been, revealed the impact of the ‘Hamilton-Effect’ on Albon: “I must say Alex was really unlucky in Brazil, he was fighting for second place when Hamilton turned him around. It happens, but it didn’t help Alex and he lost his podium.
“The next, even more severe, was in Austria, when Alex was fighting for victory when, again, he was punted around by Hamilton. That hit his confidence massively… massively.
“Second, or even the win, was on the table. Someone took the glory away. That made it difficult from this moment, his self-confidence was down and we needed someone we knew to fight for the championship, we needed two solid drivers,” added Marko, explaining the reason why Perez was hired and Albon sent packing.
Deservedly back on the grid, after being destroyed by Verstappen over the season and a half they were teammates, one year off and dabbling in DTM was Albon’s ‘punishment’ season. Williams came to the rescue, providing the 27-year-old with a lifeline which he grabbed firmly and reeled himself back into F1’s circle of respect.
Stats show that Albon is doing to his Williams teammate, Logan Sargeant, what Verstappen had done to him before. The rookie was thoroughly outclassed by high-flying Alex who might not have had the wings for RBR but has certainly found them for Chapter 2 of his F1 career.