Albon grateful for chance at Williams: 'I owe them a lot'.

Red Bull Racing is not known for retaining drivers for long periods of time, but Alex Albon is now very grateful that they did. Albon has been rewarded by the team and has therefore secured a seat at Williams in 2022.

When he started this year, the Thai driver didn't think he would be able to return to Formula 1. Slowly but surely, opportunities to return to the grid emerged. During the time when the tension was mounting and the under-confidence was increasing, it was especially important for him to keep faith.

"Mostly it was just about keeping your head down You can't control people's opinions. People’s opinions, things like that, you can’t control. You can control what you’re doing and that for me was being involved as much as I can with the team, doing the best job that I could do off track," he told Formula1.com.

Not easy

Despite being very happy with his seat at the British team, it has been difficult in the meantime. "When you’ve been in F1, and you’re at the race tracks watching it, not driving but being there, it’s tricky to sit there and relax. I got better at it during the year. At the first race, it was torture. But I got into the rhythm of it. If anything it increased my desire to be back on the grid," said Albon.

Grateful to Red Bull

"They get a bad rap for a lot of stuff, but at the end of the day they've been very supportive. But at the end of the day, they’ve been extremely helpful. They’ve helped me talk with Williams and get all this stuff sorted out. It’s nice to feel that trust and belief in me. I owe a lot to them and continue to do so."