Alexander Albon

You’ll find few drivers as laidback, cheery and thoughtful as Alexander Albon, but that’s largely down to the astonishing development that his career since 2018.

The British-born Thai racer started the year without a race seat in F2, eventually signing on with DAMS for one round, due to issues with his race budget – this deal was swiftly turned into a season long contract due to his ability, and dedicated way of working.

From here, he was able to showcase his talent, competing with George Russell and Lando Norris for the title throughout the season, but unlike his now fellow F1 graduates, Albon didn’t have the backing of an F1 team, having been dropped from the Red Bull Driver Academy programme back in 2012.

Only missing out on the title in the final round of the season, Albon had signed a deal to race for DAMS in Formula E, only for Toro Rosso to offer him an F1 drive at the end of the campaign.

Five points’ finishes with the Italian squad earned him the most remarkable of turnarounds, as Red Bull opted to promote him as the replacement for Pierre Gasly. Albon finished the 2020 in seventh, losing his seat to Sergio Perez, but will return to the F1 grid in 2022, replacing Russell at Williams.