Photo Credit: Autosport

Oxford defines prodigy as, “someone crowned with an exceptional ability to do something at a young age.” Alex Albon was given this title when he joined Red Bull Racing in 2019. Since then, Albon’s career has been a bumpy ride, with many moments that have tarnished his reputation as a Formula One driver. His recent move to Williams Racing has completely reversed his public image, yet it remains unclear how the rest of his career is going to play out.

Alex Albon, a Thai-British racing driver, is now in his second year at Williams Racing. Many people would say that his racing career can be summarized in one word: mediocre. However, the more accurate term is ‘rollercoaster’.
Albon was born in London in 1996. With a professional racer as a father, it was quite natural for him to pick up the steering wheel. However, he did more than just that. His youth career was nothing but a success. In 2016, he fell just short of a GT3 championship to a yet unknown competitor, Charles Leclerc, and in 2018, Leclerc defeated him again in Formula 2. Even though he could not take home those two titles, Albon still showed the exceptional maturity and potential he had.
With the surprise departure of Daniel Ricciardo from Red Bull Racing, a series of domino effects occurred, resulting in a call from Helmut Marko, the “Big Boss” of the Red Bull Racing Team, who was notoriously for his ruthlessness in replacing drivers. Just like that, Albon was now in a Toro Rosso seat for the 2019 season!

The 2019 season was unexpected for all those involved. As the season began, Pierre Gasly, Daniel Ricciardo’s successor, was consistently underwhelming in race weekends. Red Bull decided to pull the plug on him and promoted the rookie Albon to a full-time spot at Red Bull Racing. During Gasly’s spell in the Red Bull seat, Albon showed massive signs of potential such as at the Russian Grand Prix, where he started at last place on the grid, and took the fifth place the next day, defeating Gasly despite his inferior car. The rest of the 2019 season was fabulous for Albon, as he demonstrated his capacity for growth and pacing at a much quicker rate than Gasly. However, his hopes of a podium finish were demolished by Lewis Hamilton as Albon was taken out with a mistimed dive-bomb. This season set the stage for an even better 2020 season—at least he thought it would.

The 2020 season was nothing but appalling for Alex. In a Red Bull seat, it was always a binary between sink or swim, and Alex went with the former. That year, he finished 7th in the standings, 109 points behind his teammate Max Verstappen. Throughout the year, he showed nothing but disastrous performances and mistakes across the board. By the end of the season, Albon was replaced by a rising driver, Checo Perez. In 2021, he showcased his experience in another way by assisting his successor, Yuki Tsunoda, in his rookie year of racing.

In 2022, the phone-call that Alex awaited finally arrived. A seat in Williams Racing was made available, and he graciously took the opportunity, ready to show critics his true capacity. By the end of season, Albon had successfully made his teammate, who was already widely known to be a terrible driver, look like an even bigger fool by completely carrying the team on his back. His 2023 and 2024 seasons were repeats of the previous years; however, this time it was with Logan Sargeant, a rookie known for his atrocious driving, and Franco Colapinto, Sargeant’s replacement. Franco was called up mid-season to Williams Racing after the continuous crashing of Logan Sargeant. In his first races, Colapinto matched the pace of Albon and was quicker in some races. This was rather concerning for Albon as he had over five years of experience behind the wheel, yet he was bested by a rookie who had barely driven the car for a month.

The next fifteen months will be crucial for Albon as there is a brand-new challenger to his throne at Williams: Carlos Sainz, an experienced driver who has won 3 races and has 23 podium finishes in his hands. If Albon can take on this challenge unfazed and manages to come out triumphant, he will be guaranteed a long-lasting future in the sport. However, if he fails to perform against Sainz, he may lose his precious seat in Formula One Racing.

Overall, Alex Albon’s career so far is already extraordinary, but perception is still divided. He will need more work if he wants to engrave his spot in the future Hall of Fame.