Why Red Bull is right to back the much-maligned Albon
Alex Albon has come under plenty of criticism this year for his struggles in matching Red Bull lead driver Max Verstappen. But it's not for nothing that the famously ruthless team hasn't yet reverted to type and shown him the door
The story goes that Alex Albon, when arriving at his hotel ahead of Formula 2's 2018 pre-season test at Bahrain, found that he didn't have a room booked for him. Luckily, the Arden team happened to be staying at the same hotel, and Albon shared a room with friend and former GP3 teammate Nirei Fukuzumi.
Albon began 2018 with no drive, no backing and no money. He'd run ART stablemate Charles Leclerc close to the GP3 title in 2016, missing out by just 25 points, and then stepped up to F2 with the French squad. Although consistent at the start of a difficult 2017 season, his progress was interrupted by a broken collarbone, and ART decided to promote from within for 2018.
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Jake Boxall-Legge Autosport’s Technical Editor. Having studied Automotive Engineering with Motorsport at the University of Hertfordshire, West Country-born Jake's original ambition was to design racing cars. During a year between studies in which he accidentally rekindled a love of writing, he took up a Master's in Motorsport Engineering at Oxford Brookes. Halfway through his master's year, he was offered a place on the Autosport Academy, conducting occasional freelance duties before becoming the press officer for Formula 2 and GP3 in 2018. Autosport offered him a return to the fold later that year to serve as its Technical Editor. His voice appears on a number of videos and podcasts, and can often be found writing about terrible Formula 1 cars in excruciating detail. In his spare time, Jake enjoys baking and blames his failure to make it past the Great British Bake-Off interviews on his tenuous grasp on choux pastry. His dream is to open a brunch cafe - and his willingness to make outrageous puns in inappropriate situations has earned him the contempt of his colleagues.
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