Why Red Bull could regret losing Alex Albon 

This video of course came from a place of absolutely no bias

I remember in 2021, when it was announced that Yuki would be staying with the team, Yuki said he was surprised they resigned him. Gotta love his honesty, it's hilarious.

I hope Alex helps to build up Williams like Aston, I feel like him and James have potential to bring Williams back to the top of the midfeild especially with their ATR time.

I don't think Horner is expressing regret... just a genuine regard for a former driver. The team eats up drivers, almost comically so, but they do seem to hold a place in their hearts for the ones that are all around kind people - such as Danny Ric and Alex.

I'm just glad to see him finally getting the respect he deserves! 🥰

I think the problem was in 2021 ngl, when they chose to call up Yuki from F2 over sending Albon back down to AlphaTauri. I feel like not only could Yuki have gotten another year to develop in F2, fighting for the title against Piastri. But also we could've actually compared Gasly and Albon properly to see which one is truly better and then RB could've moved forward from there.

Who’s here after Albon beat both Ferraris?

I seriously think Alex has a real chance to go to Merc when Lewis leaves.

Alex and Pierre got a raw deal when they were dropped from Red Bull. The 2019 and 2020 (RBR15 and RBR16) was incredibly unstable in the rear and was unforgiving through corners. Alex and Pierre lacked the confidence that Max had with the car - hell even Max spun the RBR15 & RBR16 a couple of times, especialy during practice - and couldn't match him in quali and in the race. Perez was lucky that when he stepped into the RBR16B, those issues were ironed out following the rule changes to the floor and the overall improvement of the car (this is not to say that Perez isnt good, he is). I think that Alex could probably give Checo a run for his money in the 2022 Red Bull

Tommo loves a good excuse to make a video about Alex

Alex was always good. Problem is that everyone starts to overthink their life choices when driving next to Max. Combine it with the fact that during his stint at Red Bull the circumstances in his private life concerning his mother were not conductive for any Zen headspace. With everything stabilized and a good woman by his side in Lily he can take on anything.

Love that response from George. It felt genuine. Not the usual media trained, corporate response I’ve come to expect from him.

I do think, as in other sports, fit is much more important than putting a fast driver in a fast car. Albon with no pressure as a team leader with no expectations & no competition from his teammate is thriving.

Williams is in a very interesting place at the moment. Audi is coming in with a new engine. Honda is returning. Ford-RB will be out to prove their performance. Williams is probably the only team on the grid that can choose any engine it likes come 2026. This is why someone like Alex is so crucial for the team. He is invested. He is helping develop the car and the team. He will be key to developing the chassis to be the best it possibly can. Vowles is placing the necessary foundations now to set up 2026 and I am excited for both. Alex has always been a favourite of mine among the new crop of talented drivers that came in. Seeing him succeed genuinely makes me happy. Also, WALEX WALBON!

I’ve been saying this for a year now, I think he will be back at Red Bull in 2025. And I still haven’t moved on from Austria 2020.

Remember in his Red Bull years when he couldn't keep up, made rookie mistakes, and people trash talked him? I did. Albon only got this fast because the Williams understands and is supportive to him. He's so satisfied with that team that he says he won't leave. This is the ingredient to success. You need the driver and the team to cooperate to bring the best out of both parties. Red Bull is the team that infamously promotes lone prodigy and doesn't care about the #2 driver. Max Verstappen alone can win them world championships, so why should they care about some discarded driver like Albon when Perez's still a good enough defense driver capable of holding the competitors off from Verstappen's tail?

Remember in 2021 Max was fighting for the title and Perez was prepared to do anything to give Max an advantage, this includes running his race and strategy in order to help Max. And Perez was close to the top many times, he was able to keep up in France, in Baku, in Abu Dhabi to name a few. And Perez was able to defend and fight Lewis to help Max, mainly Baku, Turkey, and Abu Dhabi. I'd say Perez's performance in 2021 was incredible, he was able to hop I that car and drive it fast. But in 2022 his performance wasn't as impressive, Max beat Charles and won the championship with 6 rounds to go and Perez couldn't beat Charles.

Albon is really good right now, but maybe a little bit overrated. His Teammates were Latifi and Sargent. I think we cannot really say how good he is, because there is no comparison. And not forget how baaaad his Qualis were in the Red Bull.

Walex Walbon gives me the same amount of hope as having JPM and Ralph back in the day. They were the reason I first supported Williams and I absolutely love the new direction- it feels hopeful!

I said it years ago. Albon was treated badly by red bull and they made a mistake. All he needed was less pressure and a little more time. I hope Alex stays at Williams or ends up at a leading (non red bull) team where he is first or joint first driver. He's too talented to be a second driver.

I don't know if regret is the right word. Maybe pleased for Alex. As long Max rules the Red Bull garage I don't know if it's a good idea for Alex to go back there. James Vowles is slowly getting the team together wants to work on the infrastructure. Alex seems far more comfortable there and growing over at Williams.

That Daniel Riccardo comment didn't age well, I suppose.

In a way it's just unfortunate to be Max's teammate. The guy is an absolute monster. There aren't that many drivers in the entire field that wouldn't look like bad drivers when they're in the same car as Max and constantly get measured against him...

“Alex Albon, is bloody wonderful.” -Tommo

I think on some level, Albon is happy to be back on the F1 grid. If he hadn't gotten the Williams seat, there's a chance he's racing over here in Indycar. The thing is that he's been performing quite well in a car that honestly has no business being even compentent, but he's outperforming the car. I think that he could be a priority free agent, if he becomes available. I'm looking at maybe Aston Martin, but also Mercedes and Red Bull.

Walex Walbonoooooooooo I really, really hope Williams get to a midfield position, kinda where Alpine are, or McLaren last season. And Albono sticks with it and enters the history books as the driver, alongside Logan, who brought Williams back as a serious race team

Albon was the only driver who did a decent job in that RB for his experience level. Gasly Failed, Perez is Failing at the moment. And if you compare Albon's pace offset in the RB to max. To Checo's first RB season then Albon did quite similar if not better. That being said,, if he returns to RB he will always be a number 2 driver. I hope he can fight for No.1 Driver status at another team.

Coulda, woulda, shoulda. Albon can always come back to RBR, if they can hash out a deal. In fact, if Alex continues this form, his re-entry in the RBR fold could mean that his position in the team will be stronger.

I think he has a really good work attitude he made the best of a bad situation when he was dropped , and he was rewarded with a f1 seat , i think he needs to stay with Williams in the short term and see how they develop if they are still at the back in 2 or 3 years then he should jump ship

Everybody's shitting on Alex because he had a bad stint with redbull. But he was a ROOKIE who hopped in a new car MID season....

I think we are watching different things, Yuuki has been anything but good, Pierre and Albon were much better in Alpha Tauri. It's time AlphaTauri gives a new rookie a spot or give it back to Albon. Don't get me wrong I like the guy, but he just did not show anything special and have too many mistakes actually.

2020 car was so bad and 2021 was too good it made Checo looked much better than he is and Albon way worse than he is. I’m sure Albon could have matched the result.

Alex Albon smiling like an Angel & driving like a Bad Mothereffer ❤

If albon and Gasly were in the 2021 AT they'd of got 5th in the championship with a gap.

Walex Walbon. Great video, I'm happy that he is getting the respect and recognition that he deserves. Especially from Red Bull that is surprising. If you like this Tommo, comment Alex Albono Fan Club

I don't think RedBull will particularly "regret" losing Walex Walbon, seeing as they have Max up through 2028 and a quickly improving Yuki waiting in the wings. A missed opportunity, perhaps, but RB have plenty of talent waiting around and a renewed willingness to hire outside of that group, too. I don't think Horner or Helmut ever doubted Albon's talent, especially seeing as Horner personally lobbied Williams to take him on, it was just a business decision that had to be made. That they replaced him with a guy like Sergio (very experienced) and how they've handled Yuki (third year in F1 now despite his foibles) shows they've learned their lesson imo, and if they've any regrets it's probably more to do with how they handled the whole thing rather than with the ultimate decision to drop Albon.

So glad you brought up the fact that Sergio has had a better...and now much better car than Albon did, people seem to forget that. Albon is a quality driver and I would love to see him get another chance with a competitive team. Aston Martin could be an interesting spot for him in the future.

Albon had his fair share of chances at redbull.he failed miserably

Walex Walbon: Suffering from success

Of course Christian Horner was talking about Alex, he knows him very well and he stayed on as a reserve driver until going to Williams…when he left for Williams RBR threw him a party. It makes sense that Horner is proud of him.

RB definitely don’t regret it. If they ever wanted Albon back in the main team, I’m sure they could convince him. “Hey come join RB, you’re basically guaranteed a podium every race and when Max has issues you’ll win and get pole positions. Or you can stay at Williams and hope that you score a point every now and again”

I think as crazy as it would be for Christian to welcome Alex back into the fray, I think it wouldn't be a good fit for him. There's more than the team's outfit to consider. It's the team's personality. The vibes at Williams are so opposite to Red Bull. RBR is relentless with high expectations and has a "P1 or nothing attitude', meanwhile WR is much more patient, has a measured approach and knows that getting some points is good enough. With Alex's chill personality and unique approach to race analysis, he matches the culture at Williams so much more. I think that's why he's been able to do so much better at WR and and with how much Vowlsey is improving the car and the team, they could be fighting for race wins yet again. WAlex WAlbon.

Alex is better off in another team as a first driver than being under the shadow of max. There’s no pressure in Williams. If he does good he’s praised if he does bad no hard feelings. If you do bad in a Red Bull you’re going to have a bunch of British f1 creators with titles saying “Should Alex be dropped?” Which is what happened in 2020.

I think Alex was the best talent RB let go. Better than Kvyat, better than Checo, better than Gasly and hell while we're at it, WAYYYY better than Yuki. I feel crazy when I see people praising Yuki. Mans mental game is awful. He falls apart everytime he gets frustrated which is, constantly. I bet he falls apart now that he has legit competition from Dani Ric being in that seat next to him.

Ah lads come on 😢 the same thing keeps repeating over and over .. a British driver has a few good races 🏁 and suddenly he should be in a Redbull 😂😂 Ocon had some fantastic results in that Alpine early on in the season and not a word about him for example.. yes i know he's still not good enough for Redbull either... but my point is we are always building up British drivers just like we do with football players..😢😢😢

I'm glad you chose this thumbnail. :)

Tommo....Alex is getting that elephant across the line with points. I feel that you're making up stories for content when you start with ancient history. (Maybe not ancient, but...well...history)

I think people are overhyping Yuki, I doubt any team would like to sign him if AT wants to try someone new. He is still immature and hsi fire isnt burning enough for F1 for something bigger. Albon on the other hand has the potential to join a better team, he is professional and has unlike Yuki, a really strong work ethic

I still think his career goes a completely different direction if hamilton doesnt punt him off in austria he was winning that race

I don't think you get a team to the front of F1 living in the past. Christian's giving credit where credit is due and likes the guy outside of the business. I'm sure he is thinking more forward than anything in case they do want him to come to Red Bull at any point in the future. Gotta love Walex

Alex should absolutely not go back to the toxic team that is RB. They are always going to work for Max and the atmosphere there is not conducive to a environment where Alex can grow and feel confident

Always an interesting video. FWLIW: I get the feeling that RB's environment is something of a pressure cooker, not helped by Max being really very good, and of course Joss the SOB ...there are very few drivers who can thrive in such an environment and that's why RB struggles to find a second driver - it would be no different for Alex if he never left or came back, Sergio only seems to just about cope because he's very experienced. Alex is 'better off' out of it.

"vowsey" wtf..like you know him... Mega cringe !!

"Why Red Bull could regret losing Alex Albon" - Aint that the truth!

Walex Walbon for life! I love seeing Albon content from the 1# Albon fan

One good race and all of a sudden alex albon is a future wdc in the eyes of armchair pundits like tommo, he's in a freaking williams,all he needs to do(to ensure that his seat is guaranteed)is to beat his pathetic pay driver of a teammate and not crash into a wall,the pressure to perform at williams is nothing when compared to the pressure that a driver has to cope with when driving for a team like redbull, he's dog shit when compared to max,so redbull ofcourse will not regret giving him a contract

Definitely a fun thing to guess where he might go next, I'd love to imagine him partnering with Alonso in the AM. But we all know that's never gonna happen. WALEX WALBON!

Alex should have stepped back on AT and have a direct comparison to Pierre, whilst Yuki would further develop for another year in F2 (cause RB picks drivers up way too early imo...)

Loved the video, but the real main highlight is, Tommo is the true king of segways 😅

2026 Albono world championship they will regret it then

Theres definitely an open door for Albon at Redbull, hes still a redbull sponsored driver of course, hes only at williams as they had an open seat and he was too good to not be on the grid, a more successful set up than the mercedes sponsored de vries at a red bull team

I wonder how Albon would have fared if he hadn’t been torpedoed by HAM a few times and had gotten those podium finishes he so deserved

Walex Walbon. Interesting take on the three drivers. Appreciate the information.

A video praising Walex Walbon from Tommo?? No waaayyy :0 Jokes aside I do think that if Albon continuea to grow and gain experience he can really be a strong force in the sport

WALEX WALBON. Amazing video... I feel like Alex needs to take a decision now... either RedBull or something else. His race pace race after race is increasing week in week out. Honestly, Albon Stroll for 2025 would be a surprise team at aston that is if aston can develop a super car for that season.

Walex Walbon needs to replace Checo because Checo is washed af

Honestly think that if Alex won the Austrian race in 2020 he would still be in Red Bull, his confidence would have been so high

Walex walbon !!

I think Alex is a very good midfield runner; however, he won't be a number 1 driver at a top team. He lost to Charles in F3 and F2, and then he got beat by a rookie Russell and Norris in F2.

Walex walbon

Albon always was a great driver, the problem is how much stress and pressure get's put on you as RBRs and Max's second driver, even an experienced driver like Checo, whom is Max's best teammate to date is starting to feel that pressure . Its rather tough when your teammate is probably the best driver the sport has ever seen in terms of raw talent and adaptability, yes even better than the greats like Schumi, Senna Alonso and Lewis. It also doesn't help that RBR are a very results driven team, more so than Merc, the prior top running team, probably the most results driven in fact. It also didn't help that they were pulled up into the main team far too early in their development as drivers, they got tossed into the deep end before they learnt to swim. RBR probably didn't have much choice for drivers at the time, so they had to bring him up to the main team, I feel if they had a Checo at the time they definitely would've kept Albon on as reserve. Regardless Its not the first time RBR have squandered and burnt fantastic drivers, just look at Danny, Gasly and Albon. They missed Danny so much they got him back even as a reserve and test driver

Can’t wait when Logan wins Las Vegas and Williams go 1-2 (they have the straight line speed advantage)

Albon is a great driver, one of my favorite as well :)

I really wanna see Alex and Daniel in Williams in the future.

Alex to replace Lewis in how many years 👀

I think it was good for albon himself to get into willams

They won’t regret it, if RB calls up Albon he’s there on the double.

I can see Albon ending up with a team like McLaren. Competent, intelligent driver.

Pierre did give Alfa Tauri their last win.

The gunna beat got me moving bro 🔥

I used to think finding a teammate for Max would be tough because, as Tommo mentioned, the guy has to be capable of being on the podium, practically, every race but, at the same time, not so capable that he could actually become a threat to Max. But that doesn't matter anymore because in the last few years, Max has just gotten so good that I don't think anyone can touch at the moment. Yes, I know the car plays a large role... ... just ask Lewis 🤣. Aww poor Lew Lew ☹️

He's doing good now, but just like Gasly it did not seem he could handle the pressure at Red Bull

I think every proper fan of the sport is a fan of Alex, he’s been doing great in the Williams

The Albonaissance is here to stay

Do you think Alex would consider a move to AlphaTauri to replace De Vries next year, in an attempt to replace Perez in a couple of seasons? Unlikely that Williams will make a big jump in the coming seasons. Could be a big risk but Red Bull already really like him

Walex Walbon wand Wommo wis wot wiased!

I love Walex Walbono at Williams.

Yh I don’t think Redbull regret letting him go, Sure in hindsight they might think “I guess we could have kept him with us (RB or AT) but it’s not something that’s keeping them awake at night. From Albons side of things I think he is in a fantastic place right now and sure if he was in an RB he most probably would have a few race wins to his name and a higher driver profile but the Williams seat fits him (no not because it’s custom made for him to sit in) but because the role he inherited frim George and how he pushes to get the best out of a weekend and has this incredible positive outlook on race results, Ofcourse every driver wants to be fighting at the front and winning races but not every driver can drive a backmarker car with the attitude that Alex has, And push the team forward. I’m sure he will have a new teammate in 2024 but it’s highly possible looking at the development of teams right now that Williams end the season 7th fastest. AT, Alfa Romeo and maybe Haas behind them. I love where they are as a team right now and how Alex is performing.

WALEX WALBON, I felt mysteriously compelled to write this. 6:10 ooof, the Viking King spittin' fire 🔥 (and straight facts 📠).

Tommo....Love this thought-provoking content from you. I think Christian and Helmut have both looked back at the Gasly and Albon situation and have come around to the Franz Toast way of thinking that it takes a rookie driver 3 years to prove his worth. Regardless of the way it ended at RB with Gasly, even Christian has publicly said that it could/should have been handled differently. Ironically, Gasly is better off at Alpine, Alex is better off at Williams and Yuki, in his 3rd year, has developed into the type of driver with the potential to be a great #2 to Max. The two RBR drivers that are in somewhat of a struggle are drivers outside the RB family, Perez and DeVries. I predict that Liam Lawson, much like Gasly, will replace Nick at the summer break. If successful making the jump, it's not to far fetched to see Yuki replace Perez for 2024 with a Danny Ric/Liam Lawson lineup at AT. This will still provide the proverbial RBR pressure on their drivers to perform as Yuki will have the threat of Danny Ric at AT if he does not perform. Would love to hear your thoughts on this scenario. Cheers!

Albon needed the year as reservedriver at RBR to learn abt how to communicate with the team, to see how Max and Checo prepared/communicated/drove and so on. He himself said that that year he learned so much. THAT is what now at Williams gives him the results. Albon grew in that year. Had he stayed IN THE SEAT he would never had that learning curve which makes him the driver he now is. So the question can never be, should they have kept Albon in the seat! The question could be, should we try to get him back IN the seat now he’s ‘matured’ in F1

The thing is, what is the better option for Red Bulk between Albon, Ricciardo,.Tsunoda, Perez and Lawson? To me,.Alex is the better one today. So, unless they are able to hire someone better from other teams, he is the better option for 2025.

idk🤔 but i think red bull f1 teams sack their drivers very early like nyck de vries in alphatauri 2023 i think nyck de vries is a really good👍 driver it’s just that his driving style doesn’t fit w/ the alphatauri at04 unlike the williams fw44 which he succeeded w/ in nyck’s f1 debut @ italy race🏁 2022 these drivers who got sacked by red bull teams r just getting started

I hate this argument of "Latifi was more uncomfortable in the new regulations" when comparing Albon and Russell. So what? In return Russell had the advantage of being in F1 for a year before Latifi became his teammate. That certainly evens things out. I also did the numbers: Methodology: - I compared all Qualifying results with each other. - If one driver got out an earlier round, I used the latest round both drivers drove together. Else track progression would provide too big an advantage. - In contrast I compared qualifying position for the entire qualifying as progressing further shouldn't be punished for such a comparision. - Furthermore I compared race results only when both drivers finished. Russell vs Latifi in 2020: Qualifying Average Pace: 0.513 advantage for Russell Average Position: 3.5 positions advantage for Russell Note: - Sakhir naturally doesn't count as Russell was standing in for Mercedes. - Additionally I didn't add the turkish time advantage of Russell, because the 24 seconds difference would mess up the usefulness of having an average pace difference. Qualifying Results: 16 - 0 for Russell (100% Winrate 'duh) Race Results: 8 - 2 for Russell (80% Winrate) Russell vs Latifi in 2021: Qualifying Average Pace: 0.438 advantage for Russell Average Position: 3.8 positions advantage for Russell Note: - I left out the Russian GP time comparision as Latifi failed to make a qualifying time with both drivers in Q2. If I compared Q1 times, it would be in Latifis favour. I did keep the grid difference, though. Qualifying Results: 20 - 2 for Russell (90.91% Winrate) Race Results: 14 - 3 for Russell (82.35% Winrate) Albon vs Latifi in 2022: Qualifying Average Pace: 0.540 advantage for Albon -> Up from 0.519 during the summer break Average Position: 3.15 positions advantage for Albon -> Up from 2.42 during the summer break Note: - Due to the fuel penalty of Albon at the Australian GP, I had to remove the GP from the comparision. Albon was 1.237 seconds faster, though. - I also had to remove Imola as Albon didn't set a time there. I kept Latifis grid advantage for Imola like I did with Russell in 2021. - I took out Monza from the comparision. - Latifi only outperformed Albon before the summer break. Afterwards Albon completely slapped him. Qualifying Results: 18 - 2 (90% Winrate) Race Results: 14 - 1 for Albon (93.33% Winrate)

Walex walbon

walex walbon

Walex Walbon

Walex Walbon

Max is so out if this world good that he makes (almost) every teammate look bad… They aren’t bad. It’s just that Max is so good. People keep forgetting what the great late head of the _Greatest F1 Team Of All Time,_ *Niki Lauda,* said about Max, in 2016. Maybe because it was in German and the British biased media in this British sport called F1 didn’t cover it enough or loud enough, but here is what Niki Lauda-again, while leading Mercedes-said about Max in 2016: *”This is a once in a century talent. There has never been a driver like him and if you ask me there wil never be another with that level of natural talent.”* 🏎️🇬🇧

That’s something, innit? At 27 I didn’t even have a steady dayjob yet. Alex is up there on wwtelevision. On topic: I think he’s well off, at Williams and out of the RBR pressure cooker. RBR is alright for the tough nuts that can handle it. For those that need a bit of coaching and tlc, not so much. That’s not the same as not being a good driver, and them at RBR fail to see the distinction. They just want The Diamond King every time. Wake up, lads. I really don’t believe in that jr. program. Max wasn’t in it. Seb? You tell me, I don’t remember. All the others so far have failed by RBR standards. Not a good record