Alexander Albon Ansusinha (Thai: อเล็กซานเดอร์ อัลบอน อังศุสิงห์; RTGS: Aleksandoe Anbon Angsusing, pronounced , born 23 March 1996) is a Thai and British racing driver currently competing in Formula One for Williams Racing, under the Thai flag. Albon previously raced in Formula One for Scuderia Toro Rosso and Red Bull Racing and in DTM for AF Corse.
After becoming part of the Red Bull Junior Team in 2012, he was promoted to open-wheel cars for the 2012 Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 season. He spent three years in the series and finished third in the 2014 championship. He moved to the FIA Formula 3 European Championship in 2015, where he finished seventh. He signed with ART Grand Prix to contest the 2016 GP3 Series, and ended the season as runner-up behind teammate Charles Leclerc.
In 2017 Albon moved up to the FIA Formula 2 Championship with ART, where he finished his maiden year tenth in the standings. He then switched to the DAMS team for 2018, winning four races and finishing third in the championship. He made his Formula One début in 2019 with Toro Rosso alongside Daniil Kvyat. After twelve races, Albon was promoted to Red Bull Racing, partnering Max Verstappen and replacing Pierre Gasly. He took his first podium finish – and the first in a World Championship Formula One race for a Thai driver – at the 2020 Tuscan Grand Prix. After two seasons in Formula One, Albon was demoted to a test and reserve driver role with Red Bull for 2021 and his seat was taken by Sergio Pérez. Albon returned to Formula One in 2022, driving for Williams, replacing fellow 2019 rookie George Russell, and continued with the team in 2023.
Personal life
Albon was born at the Portland Hospital in London, England on 23 March 1996. His father, Nigel Albon is a former British racing driver who participated in the British Touring Car Championship and Porsche Carrera Cup. His mother, Kankamol, is from Thailand. His uncle, Mark Albon, is a former racing driver who competed in one round of International Formula 3000. Albon and his family own a number of pets, consisting of at least twelve cats, a dog and two horses. He has been publicly dating Chinese LPGA golfer Lily He since 2019.
Growing up in Bures, Suffolk alongside a younger brother, Luca, and three sisters, Chloe, Zoe and Alicia, Albon attended Ipswich School before leaving to pursue his professional racing career, citing Michael Schumacher and Valentino Rossi as being inspirational figures when he was younger. Albon holds dual British and Thai nationality, and races under the Thai flag. Albon practises Buddhism.
Early career
Karting
Albon started competitively racing karts in 2005 at the age of 8, competing locally and winning his local Hoddesdon Championship. In 2006 Albon started racing in the cadet class, finishing 1st at the Kartmasters British Grand Prix and participating in the Super 1 National Honda Cadet Championship finishing 1st in 2006 and 2nd in 2007. In 2008 he moved up to the KF3 class where he stayed until 2010. During this time Albon won the Kartmasters British Grand Prix, Formula Kart Stars Championship, KF Winter Series, Super 1 National KF3 Championship, CIK-FIA World Cup, and CIK-FIA European Championship. In 2011 Albon graduated to KF1 placing 2nd in the WSK Euro Series and 2nd at the CIK-FIA World Championship.
Formula Renault 2.0
EPIC Racing (2012)
From karting Albon graduated to the Formula Renault 2.0 Eurocup series where he drove for EPIC Racing in 2012 alongside Kevin Giovesi, Konstantin Tereschenko, Kevin Jörg, Dennis Wusthoff and Christof von Grunigen and finished 38th out of 49 in the championship after having a tough year and being unable to score points.
KTR (2013–2014)
In 2013 Albon joined KTR to race in the 2013 Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 season alongside Yu Kanamaru and Ignazio D'Agosto finishing 16th out of 36 in the championship. Albon managed to secure one fastest lap and one pole position in the 2013 season, both of them coming at the Red Bull Ring in Austria. He finished the 2013 season with 22 points. In 2014 Albon raced alongside Gregor Ramsay, Jules Gounon and Callan O'Keefe and enjoyed a much more successful year. He was once again unable to find a win at any of the 14 races but managed to get one pole position at the Nürburgring and finished 3rd in the drivers' championship with 117 points.
European Formula 3
In 2015, Albon switched to European Formula 3, racing at Signature with teammate Dorian Boccolacci. He finished seventh overall, with two pole positions (scored at the Norisring), 5 podiums (including four rookie wins), and 187 points overall.
GP3 Series
In December 2015, Albon partook in post-season testing with ART Grand Prix. In 2016, Albon raced for ART in the GP3. Albon claimed four wins and finished as runner-up in the championship to teammate Charles Leclerc.
Formula 2 Championship
ART Grand Prix (2017)
In 2017, Albon graduated to the FIA Formula 2 Championship, with ART. His teammate for the season would be Nobuharu Matsushita, who at the time was also signed as a development driver for McLaren. He made his debut in Bahrain, where he started in 9th place on the starting grid for the feature race and finished 6th. For the sprint race, Albon qualified 3rd on the grid, behind Luca Ghiotto and his teammate, Matsushita. However, mechanical problems forced Matsushita to start from the pitlane promoting Albon to second. Albon struggled for grip for the majority of the race and finished in 7th position.
At the Spanish round Albon placed 3rd on the provisional starting grid for the feature race. Charles Leclerc led into turn one, but found himself under fire from Ghiotto and Albon after locking up. Leclerc began to pull away from Ghiotto, who began to fall into the clutches of Albon, who subsequently made a move into turn one and took second place from Ghiotto. Leclerc pitted on lap seven, along with Matsushita, leaving Albon with the lead of the race. Sergio Canamasas ground to a halt on lap 10 owing to problems with the car. Despite this, he did not pull off the track to retire – instead remaining on the track and gesturing to the marshals asking for a push-start. The dangerous position of the car initially brought out the virtual safety car and eventually, the safety car itself. As the race resumed, Leclerc and Ghiotto began to scythe through the pack. Oliver Rowland eventually pressured Albon into a mistake to take the lead of the race, although both still had an impending pitstop to make. With the fresh rubber, Albon and Rowland were staging a comeback with both drivers challenging for the podium toward the latter stages of the race, Albon later finished the race in 5th position. In the sprint race, Albon started 4th on the grid and enjoyed a well-fought battle with Leclerc for the majority of the race and after battling for several laps, Leclerc finally passed Albon for fifth place. Later in the race however Albon dropped back, finishing the race in 8th position.
At the Monaco round, Albon qualified second on the grid with a time of 1:19.321 seconds. In qualifying, the grid was separated into two Groups due to safety concerns over the short and tight nature of the circuit. Albon was part of the 'Group B' qualifying and managed to gain the fastest time in that group, only qualifying 12 hundredths of a second behind Leclerc who qualified in Group A. After an aborted start due to Antonio Fuoco and Sean Gelael's engines stalling on the grid, Leclerc led into the first corner, followed by Albon. A concertina effect occurred at the Grand Hotel Hairpin as Canamasas was spun, causing Gelael to lose his front wing and bringing out a local yellow. Later in the race, Albon found himself stuck behind the slower moving Norman Nato and Jordan King, which eventually caused him to lose places, finishing the race in a disappointing 4th position. In the Sprint Race, Albon started 5th on the grid, and after a very tight race, he dropped back to finish in 6th position. Albon missed the Baku round of the Championship due to injury. Albon had sustained a broken collarbone whilst out on a mountain biking training ride, and was unable to compete due to the over-the-shoulder seat belts used in Formula 2.
Albon was back in action for the fifth round of the championship, stating that his initial feeling on returning to action after breaking his collarbone was "a lot better" than he expected. He confirmed that the bone was still "clearly broken" following an x-ray on the Tuesday before the race weekend, and explained that the main issue he is having in the car is a "numb feeling" from the scar he received during successful surgery after the crash. Albon finished the practice session in 8th, which showed that despite the injury, the chance for his first podium in Formula 2 was a possibility. Albon qualified in 4th for the Feature Race, however, he was later promoted to third on the provisional starting grid after Sérgio Sette Câmara was disqualified after the qualifying session after failing to provide the required 1 litre fuel sample. Albon finished the Feature Race in 5th position, after losing places to Oliver Rowland and Nicholas Latifi (both racing for DAMS) whose car proved to have a lot of pace. For the Sprint Race, Albon started the race 4th on the grid and managed to move up the grid to clinch his first podium in Formula 2, finishing behind Artem Markelov. He would later score another podium at the sprint race at the season finale in Abu Dhabi, finishing in second after being overtaken by Leclerc on the final lap. He finished 10th in the drivers' championship in his first F2 season, scoring 86 points.
DAMS (2018)
In April 2018, DAMS announced that they signed Albon for the 2018 season to partner Nicholas Latifi. While initially only confirmed for the opening round, he was later confirmed as a full-time driver for the team the following month. He started the season with fourth place in the feature race in Bahrain before finishing thirteenth in the sprint race.
For the next round in Baku, Albon started from pole for the feature race and followed it up with his first win in F2, while in the sprint race he finished thirteenth again.
At the next two rounds in Barcelona and Monaco, Albon took two more pole positions but finished fifth in the feature race in Spain after getting away slowly while in the sprint he finished second behind Jack Aitken. In Monaco, however, it was a weekend to forget for the Thai driver, as in the feature race, he collided with Nyck de Vries as he was entering the pitlane, spinning him around in the pitlane entrance, while in the sprint race he collided with Campos' Roy Nissany approaching the Nouvelle Chicane.
Another retirement would follow in the feature race at Le Castellet after he suffered an engine failure. In the sprint race, he finished seventh, one place ahead of Latifi. After finishing fifth in both races at the Red Bull Ring, Albon won the feature race at Silverstone, before collecting two more wins at the sprint race at the Hungaroring, and the feature race at Sochi. A stall on the grid in the feature race at Abu Dhabi ended his title chances; he finished fourteenth in the feature race and eighth in the sprint race, leaving him third in the drivers' championship behind fellow future F1 drivers George Russell and Lando Norris.
Formula E
Albon was signed by Nissan e.dams alongside Sébastien Buemi as one of its drivers for the 2018–19 Formula E season, but he was released before the start of the season to instead drive in the 2019 Formula One season for Toro Rosso.
His place was taken by former F2 colleague Oliver Rowland, who previously competed in the 2015 Punta del Este ePrix as an injury replacement for Mahindra Racing's Nick Heidfeld.
Formula One career
Toro Rosso (2019)
On 26 November 2018, it was announced that Albon had been released from his Nissan e.dams Formula E contract after rumours he was to sign for Scuderia Toro Rosso in Formula One. On the same day, Toro Rosso announced Albon would join the team for 2019 alongside Daniil Kvyat and thus Albon's relationship with Red Bull, which had ended seven years prior, was restored. He is the second Thai driver to compete in Formula One and the first since Prince Bira competed in 1954.
Albon qualified thirteenth and finished fourteenth in his debut race, the Australian Grand Prix. He scored his first points at the following race, the Bahrain Grand Prix, finishing ninth. A heavy crash in practice for the Chinese Grand Prix forced him to miss qualifying and start the race from the pit lane. He recovered in the race to finish tenth and win the Driver Of The Day award. He reached the third qualifying session (Q3) for the first time at the Monaco Grand Prix and finished the race eighth. Damage caused by contact with Antonio Giovinazzi on the first lap of the Canadian Grand Prix later led to Albon's first race retirement.
Albon's best qualifying result with Toro Rosso came at the British Grand Prix with ninth place, although he failed to score points in the race. Albon started the German Grand Prix in sixteenth place. He and Toro Rosso took advantage of changing weather conditions to run as high as fourth and eventually finish sixth, albeit behind teammate Kvyat who claimed the team's first podium finish in over ten years. At this stage of the season, Albon had scored 16 points to Kvyat's 27.
Red Bull (2019–2021)
2019
After the Hungarian Grand Prix, Red Bull Racing announced that Albon would be replacing Pierre Gasly and partnering Max Verstappen at the team from the Belgian Grand Prix onwards, with Gasly returning to Toro Rosso. On the mid-season change, Red Bull stated: "The team will use the next nine races to evaluate Alex's performance in order to make an informed decision as to who will drive alongside Max in 2020."
At the Belgian Grand Prix, Albon was forced to start from seventeenth place due to a power unit change. He recovered to finish fifth in the race after passing Sergio Pérez on the final lap. After sixth-place finishes at the Italian and Singapore Grands Prix, Albon finished fifth at the Russian Grand Prix having crashed in qualifying and started from the pit lane. Albon and Verstappen set identical lap times in qualifying at the Japanese Grand Prix and Albon finished a career-best fourth in the race. He finished fifth at both the Mexican and United States Grands Prix, despite taking damage on the opening lap and making three pit stops at the latter. He was in second place on the penultimate lap of the Brazilian Grand Prix, but was hit by Lewis Hamilton during an overtaking attempt, dropping Albon to fourteenth place at the finish. He finished sixth at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix to close out the season.
Albon ended his debut season eighth in the World Drivers' Championship with 92 points. He scored 76 points during his nine races at Red Bull, compared to 97 for Verstappen over the same period. Albon received the Rookie of the Year award at the FIA Prize Giving Ceremony.
2020
Albon continued racing for Red Bull alongside Verstappen in 2020. In the closing stages of the season-opening Austrian Grand Prix, Albon was in third place at the safety car restart on new soft-compound tyres, behind the leading Mercedes cars on older hard tyres. Albon attempted to overtake Lewis Hamilton but the two made contact, sending Albon into the gravel. Albon later retired with an electrical failure which engine supplier Honda blamed on the collision. He came under pressure from Racing Point's Sergio Pérez in the final laps of the Styrian Grand Prix but maintained fourth place after the drivers made contact, damaging Pérez's front wing. Red Bull commented that they were unsure why Albon lacked pace in the race. He started thirteenth and recovered to fifth at the Hungarian Grand Prix.
Albon crashed heavily in practice for the British Grand Prix and went on to qualify twelfth. He received a penalty in the race for causing a collision with Kevin Magnussen and dropped to the back of the field before ultimately finishing eighth. He qualified fifth for the Belgian Grand Prix but finished sixth after being passed by Renault's Esteban Ocon on the final lap. He was fifteenth at the Italian Grand Prix having taken collision damage and a time penalty on the opening lap. Albon took his maiden Formula One podium at the Tuscan Grand Prix by overtaking Daniel Ricciardo in the closing laps, the first podium for a Thai Formula One driver.
Albon claimed only a single point over the next four races; he finished tenth at the Russian Grand Prix, collided with former teammate Daniil Kvyat and later retired with a damaged radiator at the Eifel Grand Prix, was lapped by Verstappen and finished twelfth at the Portuguese Grand Prix and dropped to fifteenth at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix due to a spin with five laps remaining. He led a race for the first time at the Turkish Grand Prix on his way to seventh place, and took his second podium finish at the Bahrain Grand Prix after Sergio Pérez retired from third place due to an engine failure, making him the first Asian driver to score more than one podium finish. He finished sixth at the Sakhir Grand Prix, having started twelfth, and finished fourth at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, pressuring Lewis Hamilton in the closing stages of the race.
Albon finished the season seventh in the World Drivers' Championship, scoring 105 points to Verstappen's 214.
2021
Albon was demoted to the role of test and reserve driver with Red Bull for 2021, his race seat being taken by Sergio Pérez. Following his demotion, Albon remarked that "it hurts" but added that he hoped to return to a race seat for 2022. After finishing his 2021 DTM campaign, he took on a coaching role for AlphaTauri driver Yuki Tsunoda starting from the 2021 Turkish Grand Prix.
Williams (2022–)
2022
Albon returned to a Formula One race seat in 2022 with Williams, replacing George Russell and partnering former Formula 2 teammate Nicholas Latifi. Red Bull team principal Christian Horner revealed that Albon retained "a link to Red Bull" and that the team had an option to recall him for 2023.
In his first race for Williams, the Bahrain Grand Prix, Albon out-qualified Latifi and finished the race thirteenth. He was in twelfth place in the final laps of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, but failed to finish after a collision with Lance Stroll for which Albon was penalised. He scored his first point for Williams at the Australian Grand Prix by finishing tenth; he started the race from last place and made his mandatory pit stop with one lap remaining. He again started last at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix due to a brake fire in qualifying, but recovered to finish the race eleventh. Albon qualified eighteenth for the inaugural Miami Grand Prix and was classified ninth, his second points score of the season. At the British Grand Prix Albon was involved in an opening lap crash with Yuki Tsunoda and Esteban Ocon after he was hit from behind by Sebastian Vettel. He was hospitalised for precautionary checks and suffered no serious injuries.
At the Belgian Grand Prix he reached Q3 for the first time with Williams, qualifying ninth and starting sixth due to grid penalties for other drivers. He finished the race tenth, scoring a point. Albon was forced to withdraw from the Italian Grand Prix after suffering from appendicitis and was replaced by Nyck de Vries. Williams later revealed that Albon had suffered anaesthetic-related respiratory failure following his surgery but was recovering well. He recovered in time for the Singapore Grand Prix, three weeks later, where he retired with damage from colliding with the barriers. He then retired on the opening lap of the Japanese Grand Prix after a collision with Kevin Magnussen. An eighth-place start at the United States Grand Prix failed to produce points with a thirteenth-place finish. He qualified eleventh at the São Paulo Grand Prix but a puncture caused his retirement from the sprint, demoting him to the back of the grid for the race. Albon ended the season nineteenth in the World Drivers' Championship, scoring 4 of Williams' 8 points.
2023
Albon was retained by Williams for 2023 on a multi-year contract, partnering Logan Sargeant, who replaced Nicholas Latifi. Albon's contract extension marked the end of his Red Bull affiliation, although he stated that he still maintained "a very close relationship" with the team; the logo of Monsoon Valley, a wine brand founded by Red Bull co-owner Chalerm Yoovidhya, features on his race helmet. He qualified fifteenth at the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix, failing to set a time in Q2 due to front wing damage. He recovered in the race to score a point with tenth place. He retired from the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix with a brake failure. He qualified eighth at the Australian Grand Prix and ran as high as sixth in the opening laps, but crashed heavily on lap six. At the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, he qualified and finished the sprint race in the top ten, but failed to score points after finishing the main race twelfth.
Albon started ninth at the Canadian Grand Prix, executed a successful one-stop strategy and held behind the faster cars of Sergio Pérez and George Russell for much of the race to finish seventh, his best result thus far for Williams. He received praise from Red Bull team principal Christian Horner for his performance. Another Q3 appearance came at the Austrian Grand Prix followed by an eleventh-place finish. He qualified in the top ten for the third consecutive race at the British Grand Prix and finished ahead of both Ferraris in eighth place. He matched his highest career qualifying position at the Dutch Grand Prix, starting fourth. Despite staying on slick tyres during a rain shower in the early laps and dropping to fifteenth place, he recovered to finish eighth. He scored points again at the Italian Grand Prix where he qualified sixth and defended against Lando Norris to finish seventh.
Albon started seventeenth for the Qatar Grand Prix sprint and gained ten places to score points in seventh place. He received two penalties for track limits infringements and failed to score in the main race. More points came at the United States and Mexico City Grands Prix; he finished ninth in both races having started outside the top ten. He was then eliminated in a first-corner collision with Kevin Magnussen at the São Paulo Grand Prix, having started thirteenth. Albon and teammate Sargeant started fifth and sixth respectively for the Las Vegas Grand Prix, but both failed to score in the race, finishing 12th despite the timing of safety car going against them. Albon ended the season thirteenth in the Drivers' Championship. He scored 27 points to Sargeant's one point, securing Williams seventh place in the Constructors' Championship.
2024
Albon continued at Williams alongside Sargeant for 2024. He qualified and finished outside the top ten at the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix, with the team stating that both drivers were dealing with engine overheating issues during the race. He and Kevin Magnussen collided at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix and Albon went on to finish eleventh. He crashed in the first practice session at the Australian Grand Prix and Williams were unable to repair his car, nor did they have a spare chassis. Team principal James Vowles described the situation as "a reflection of how behind we were in the winter period". The team decided to withdraw Sargeant from the event and allow Albon to use the one remaining car. He finished the race eleventh. He qualified fourteenth for the Japanese Grand Prix but was eliminated in a first-lap crash with Daniel Ricciardo.
DTM
Albon participated in 14 out of 16 races of the 2021 Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters, with Formula E driver Nick Cassidy taking his place for the final two races at the Norisring. He was driving for the Italian outfit AF Corse alongside Formula 2 driver Liam Lawson, with the backing from Red Bull.
On 22 August 2021, Albon won his maiden DTM race at the Nürburgring, becoming the first Thai driver to win a DTM race.
Karting record
Karting career summary
Original Wikipedia article last retrieved on 30 April 2024.