Red Bull and Mercedes staged one of the most exciting and hot duels in recent years in the 2021 Formula 1 season, which ended with the drivers’ title on the side of Milton Keynes, when Max Verstappen overtook Lewis Hamilton after the restart one lap from the finish to win the race and the championship at the Yas Marina Circuit .
It was a campaign closure with a lot of controversy between the two teams, as well as between the two drivers, and Alex Albon , who worked in the Red Bull simulator as a fundamental part of this year’s development, said that the closure of Abu Dhabi balanced what that was experienced throughout the season.
“I understand both sides of the story, but I have to say I feel like a lot of decisions or moments this year have gone against Max. Just look at Silverstone, Hungary, Jeddah and even the first lap in Abu Dhabi,” he said. Anglo-Thai in an exclusive interview with Motorsport.com.
“We’ve been incredibly lucky at the last moment, but at the same time I think we’ve earned that luck. I have nothing against Lewis and Mercedes, but in a way we got the karma that we deserved as a team that Sunday. So It’s how most things balance out over the course of a season.”
Albon was Red Bull’s regular driver from the middle of the 2019 season, when he replaced Pierre Gasly, until the end of 2020, before Sergio Pérez took his place and was sent into a reserve and development driver role.
Within that role, the one from London had a major influence on the development of the RB16B throughout the season, for which he felt a personal satisfaction with the consecration of Verstappen.
“This title is a great feeling, also for me,” said Albon. “The guys have worked hard, not only me, but everyone in the factory. I am comforted by the reward for it and, although I have only contributed 0.1% to the final result, it has not been in vain and this success fills me with satisfaction”.
Amid the tight final title battle between Verstappen and Hamilton, Albon had to put more effort into the simulator during the latter part of the season to help Red Bull from Milton Keynes.
“As the fight for the world championship became more exciting, we refocused our work (in the simulator) on this year’s car. In the Jeddah and Abu Dhabi races, at least we did more than we would have done in a normal weekend in the simulator. Fortunately, that has worked very well, “concluded Albon, who will leave Red Bull for 2022 to be a regular driver at Williams.
