Alex Albon reaches 100 races with Williams and reflects on journey from Red Bull exile

Of the hundreds of drivers who have graced the grid during Formula 1's 76-year history, only 26 have completed a century of race starts with a single constructor. At the Hungarian Grand Prix, Alex Albon joined that exclusive list — and marked the occasion with a special helmet design celebrating a centenary with the British team.

The milestone comes just weeks after Albon broke former world champion Nigel Mansell's record to become the driver with the most race starts for Williams, surpassing the 96 mark. Now 30 years old, Albon joined the British team in 2022, filling the void created by George Russell's switch to Mercedes. But the path to this point was anything but straightforward.

From Red Bull reserve to reborn racer

Five years ago, Albon stood at a crossroads. Red Bull had replaced him with Sergio Pérez at the end of the 2020 season, after he had struggled to match teammate Max Verstappen's pace. While keeping one foot in F1 as the team's test and reserve driver, he also competed in the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters (DTM) in 2021, finishing sixth in the drivers' championship with a single win and multiple podium finishes across 16 races.

But it was the time spent in the simulator and working with Red Bull engineer Simon Rennie that proved instrumental. "Alex's technical knowledge went up exponentially," said Patrick Harding, Albon's performance coach of eight years. "His understanding of the car, his understanding of the engineering side, what he needed from a car to be quick. It was unrecognizable in that first year at Williams compared to where he'd been that second year at Red Bull. So that was testament to the support he got at Red Bull."

That year on the F1 sidelines also challenged Albon to question who he was as a person. Harding watched as the Thai-British driver began focusing more on himself away from the track. "One of the biggest challenges that young athletes have, and some established athletes as well, is separating themselves from their sport and that identity piece," Harding said. "If you view yourself as what you do, then when you're challenged on that, (it's) very much an emotional response because you view that as a challenge to you as an individual."

The result was a transformed driver — both technically and personally. "The proudest bit of working with him is seeing the individual he's become now, compared to the challenges that he faced seven, eight years ago," Harding said. "You never want to be made a reserve driver, but the learnings that he had from that year at Red Bull, from both a technical and a human point of view, were absolutely integral to who he is as an individual. And if you ask me: would I change that? Probably not, because I don't think we'd have the Alex Albon that we have right now."

Around the same time, Russell was racing for Williams but heading to Mercedes. Albon recalled speaking with his fellow Brit, who joined F1 in 2019 alongside Albon and Lando Norris. "We would hide out behind the bins and talk about a possible chance back in Formula 1," Albon said. The Williams seat is what Albon wanted, and it's what he eventually secured — with Russell giving him a "warm welcome" and advice on areas the team needed to work on.

Building blocks of a resurgence

Coming into the 2022 season, Williams' car was overweight and appeared among the slowest on the grid during preseason testing. It was the first year of the ground-effect regulation era, and the team was still getting to grips with the new rules. So Albon's Q2 appearance at the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix and his P15 qualifying position stood out — he outqualified teammate Nicholas Latifi by a comfortable margin and showed he could wring performance out of a tricky car.

"On the personal side, there were a lot of question marks about me coming back into Formula 1, and how was I going to do?" Albon said. "Sounds such a simple, boring story, but it meant a lot to me."

Then came seventh place at the 2023 Canadian Grand Prix — his best finish yet for Williams, at a pivotal time for the team. "It seems funny to say, but that was such an insane result for us at the time," he said. "I remember crossing the line, and my engineer, James, had the radio channel open, and you could hear the noise in the background of the whole team jumping up and down and celebrating, and that meant a lot to me. When I think about it back then, (it's) sort of the beginning of the building blocks of where we started to grow as a team."

Albon practically became the face of Williams' resurgence. He scored the majority of the team's points for multiple seasons, sometimes outperforming the car's potential, and earned the nickname 'Tire Whisperer' for his ability to save tyres and extend stint life. Behind the scenes, he matured into a leader who led by example rather than shouting in engineering meetings.

"What I really loved about Alex when we came to Williams is seeing him step into the role as a leader," Harding said. "He's not somebody who's going to scream and shout in engineering, or dictate to people what he wants from that respect. But he leads by example, and the standards that he sets for himself he expects from people around him."

A difficult present, an uncertain future

Reaching the century mark has made Albon "feel old," but it has also prompted reflection on the progress made during those five seasons — going from a backmarker to a more competitive threat in the midfield last year. This season, however, has been a different story. Williams is eighth in the constructors' championship and struggling with the new regulations, just as in 2022.

"I feel the ups and downs. I feel the pain of this year just as much as anyone else," Albon said. "It's not out of frustration. I share the frustration. I share the frustration with the team. There's no feeling sorry for myself. It's all, 'This is who we are, and this is where we need to improve and push forward to get back to where we were.'"

Hungary was always expected to be a tricky track for Williams, given how wind-sensitive the car is. Albon and teammate Carlos Sainz struggled with high-speed corner stability during practice. With Aston Martin taking a step forward after bringing its major chassis upgrade to Budapest, the gap to Williams has only grown more glaring.

Winter production delays put Williams on the back foot, though the team has been able to shed weight off the car. A notable upgrade package — essentially a B-spec car — has been circled for Baku. But even Albon has doubts about whether it will be enough.

"We know the weaknesses of the car," Albon said after the Hungarian GP. "This year, the work that's been done at the factory, it's the biggest effort I've seen in the team… I think we're doing exactly the right things to get back on track. It's a shame that we're here in the first place, but I do believe we're doing the right thing. If it's cured by Baku, I doubt it."

The rest of the grid has steadily upgraded across the first 11 race weekends of the year, and the gap Williams needs to close has only increased. "Unfortunately, it feels like Aston is going to be faster for the rest of the year now," Albon added. "We're going to be helped out by some circuits down the straights. But, otherwise, if it's a corner-focused circuit, we're going to be on the backfoot."

Yet for all the current difficulties, Albon's commitment to the team remains unwavering. "There's a story there; where, in many ways, Williams were the ones that gave me my first opportunity back into Formula 1 and, at the same time, I live and breathe the team," he said. "I want this to go well. I poured a lot of my time and energy into this team, and I hope it's for something."