Alexander Albon tells us what happened in Formula E and the F1 scene when his F2 stint ended before his F1 debut.
Before making his F1 debut with Toro Rosso, Albon moved to Formula E and joined Nissan. When things looked tough on his path to the top of motorsport, the Thai racer decided to end his F2 career and turn to electric racing.
When Marko received his call-up to F1, he was preparing for his debut season in Formula E. They decided not to renew Brendon Hartley’s contract as Pierre Gasly was called up for Red Bull’s senior ride. This left Toro Rosso with free space for Albon to enter.
It all happened at the last minute when Albon had to cancel his contract with Nissan, which included an F1 drive clause. “Formula E is the second best thing you can do professionally after Formula 1,” Albon said on the High Performance podcast. “When I was offered to join Formula E, I thought, ‘Wow, this is great.'”
Actually, before I signed the contract, I called Helmut Marko, the head of Red Bull’s youth program, and said, “Before I sign the contract in Formula E, there is a possibility that I might be able to compete in Formula 1.” I just said, “Is it?” and he said to me, “Our place is full. We don’t have a chance.”
“I think at that point I was disappointed. I didn’t just drive around Red Bull, I took every opportunity to see if there was a place for me in F1, but it wasn’t. I knew it wasn’t there, so I thought, “Okay, Formula E.” ”And my attitude was there. I think it was three or four months before his last race of the F2 season that I signed this Formula E contract. Then, as the final race of the year approached, Helmut Marko brought me back.
“He asked about my ‘simulator services’ – that’s what he said. He asked his assistant, “Could you please stop by Helmut’s office at the racetrack?” We discussed working on the simulator. I actually joined the simulator at Mercedes and worked for them. He wanted to know how much money I made with Mercedes.
“I gave him something big!” and he said, “Okay, can I see it? “said. I said, “Wow, he agreed to my simulator terms and conditions!” ’,” the 27-year-old recalls. “I don’t know what it is. I guess it’s something he does sometimes, [but] he kept talking about this deal. [And] as I was walking out the door, he said, “My God.” What will happen to my contract with Formula E? Can I come?”
“And the only thing I secured in my Formula E contract was a clause that if I was offered Formula 1, I was ready to go. I said, ‘That’s it,’ and he I said, “Okay, I’ll get back to you,” and within 24 hours it was almost all done. He literally called me within 24 hours and said, “Okay, yes, you’re good to go” and “I’ll put out a press release in about an hour,” and I told him that his F1 It was the driver.
“I probably know it myself, but I didn’t have a lot of confidence going into this situation. I needed that feeling of feeling like I was facing a challenge. So when this opportunity came up in F1, I thought: ‘Am I ready?’ Albon concluded.
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