Albon now knows what it takes to be 'a top tier' F1 driver

F1 returnee Alex Albon says his year off from Grand Prix racing and his work with Red Bull gave him a global view of what it takes to be a top driver in F1.

Albon was promoted to Red Bull Racing half-way through his debut season in F1.

But a lack of consistency in 2020 and his inability to qualify or race on a par with teammate Max Verstappen decided the Milton Keynes-based outfit to replace the Anglo-Thai racer with Sergio Perez for 2021.

Albon remained within the Red Bull family however, racing part-time in the German DTM series and conducting simulator work at Milton Keynes while embedding with the F1 team on race weekend.

The 25-year-old didn't put much racing mileage under his belt last season, but the year on the sidelines did broaden his knowledge of how the top drivers operate at the highest level.

"I feel like having that year out, I have had a bit more of a global view of what it takes to be a top tier driver, in the sense that I had the full picture of it," he said, quoted by Motorsport.com.

"Sometimes when you're in the race weekend, when you're flat out, kind of in that zone, you only see the racetrack, and that's kind of your year.

"Last year, it was a very different role for me, it was a lot about developing the car, about seeing how the team operates, in fulfilling my development role as best as I could.

"And I feel like there's a lot of experience there, learning the ways in which an F1 team operates.

"I definitely can use that and bring that to Williams. And at the same time there's things which I've spent during last year reflecting and thinking, how can I do a better job?

"And that's not just one thing. That's a lot of little things, which obviously, I'm working on for this year. I still need to drive the car to work on them."

• Read also: New helmet shows Albon is still a red bull at Williams

Part of Albon's development work last year with Red Bull included simulator time at the wheel of the team's 2022-spec RB18.

While his knowledge of his former outfit's new car is limited, given that he no longer took part in its development after his return to F1 with Williams was confirmed, Albon says he will use "everything that I know" for his new team's benefit.

" At the same time, and I'm not an aerodynamicist, I don't know what the rear wing looks like on the RB18 or anything like that. I just know the feeling of it.

"The simulator is quite simple. You've got two wheels on the front of it, and you're inside of a monocoque. So yeah, it is hard in that sense.

"But I think what I will bring to Williams is just the way that they work and the way that they go about their business, more than anything else.

"And of course, on top of that cars have characteristics they carry even if the rules change as much as they do from last year to this year.

"They always tend to keep their slight subtleties within the cars, it's quite a normal thing to happen.

"And I think I have a good feeling of why the Red Bull car was fast, and I know how they exploited their lap time out of the car.

"And I know at the same time why the Williams was quick in some places, and I can see how these things sort themselves out.

"So it's just kind of that balance of trying to use that knowledge that I do have to try and make us more competitive."

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