How Albon went from zero experience to Red Bull hero

Alex Albon likes to live life on the edge. Well, maybe "likes" is a stretch. But he's got damned used to it.

Seven years ago, Red Bull dropped him without a second thought, a decision that left Albon "on the brink of stopping racing all together".

Now, the 23-year old has completed his journey from Red Bull protege to Red Bull reject to Red Bull Formula 1 driver at the perfect time, and the only brink he stands on is one that heralds the chance of a lifetime.

Red Bull has more momentum in Formula 1 than it has had for the best part of a decade. Max Verstappen will spearhead what could be a title assault in 2020, and Albon has been entrusted as his deputy.

It is a colossal turnaround for a driver with no Formula 1 prospects barely 12 months ago, let alone one whose entire career could have ended at any point since 2012.

February 2019: In at the deep end

Resilience is the key theme in Albon's story. He was dropped by Red Bull after poor results as a car-racing rookie in Formula Renault, and a difficult personal situation with his mother being imprisoned, but since those rocky first steps in 2012, his ability has blossomed.

After "begging" DAMS to give him a shot in 2018, race-winning Formula 2 performances led to a multi-year deal to race in Formula E with Nissan. A newly re-interested Red Bull had to fight to get Albon released from that contract, which precluded his involvement in the end-of-season Abu Dhabi test.

He had to wait until Toro Rosso's shakedown in Italy, a few days before pre-season testing in Barcelona, to drive an F1 car for the first time, so focused on upping his training over the winter and doing a lot of reading.

"A lot of driver books," he said with a smile in the cold Barcelona paddock. "I couldn't believe that - the steering wheel pages are quite thick!"

Having mastered a basic grasp of the technology, Albon had to translate theory into practice. And, on his outlap, he spun into the gravel. "I was thinking, 'Don't spin it', and that's exactly what I did," he said with a sheepish grin later on.

Toro Rosso wasn't concerned. Team principal Franz Tost backed Albon to be "one of the positive surprises of the year", and though Albon felt "a bit like a dog with the tail between the legs" after his spin, by the end of testing he was almost as positive as his bosses.

"I won't know everything by Australia, that's for sure," he admitted. "I won't be driving at 100% straight away. It will take time, and I know that."

April 2019: Bouncing back from adversity

Being realistic, with good respect for his situation but an awareness of where to improve, would quickly prove to be among Albon's most valuable qualities.

Shunting in practice in Australia put that to the test immediately, when he took a little too much for granted through the tricky chicane that starts the lap, lost the rear, and slammed hard into the wall.

Albon responded by accepting his part in the error, then brushing off any potential after-effects. He qualified well, raced strongly, and his opening weekend passed without further setbacks.

However, he felt that race pace and judging just how hard to work the tyres and the car were the main areas he needed to work on.

He responded with his first points finish in Bahrain, before suffering another practice crash in China. This one was more costly. It prevented him from taking part in qualifying, and meant he would start Sunday's race from the pitlane.

Toro Rosso stood by him, and Albon thought he knew why: "It's not like I was slow, and crashed." He was beginning to push the limits.

Boosted by the team's support, and faith in his own pace, Albon drove superbly in Sunday's grand prix. By the end of the day, he'd converted a pitlane start into his second consecutive F1 points finish - and he was awarded F1's official driver of the day accolade, too.

"Saturday I was maybe worst driver of the day," he joked. "So it was nice to come back strong on Sunday."

July 2019: The door opens at Red Bull

As Albon's rookie season went from strength to strength, including eighth in Monaco, Pierre Gasly's year was in freefall.

Such is the difference in expectations of drivers between Red Bull's senior team and its junior squad.

A mini-turnaround began when Red Bull instructed Gasly's side of the garage to work from Verstappen's settings, but this was limited to better performances in Austria and Britain. Gasly shunted in practice in Germany and collided pointlessly with Albon in a rain-hit race.

While both parties had a part to play in that incident, it was a misjudgement from Gasly more than anything else. A quality drive from Albon, even though Toro Rosso team-mate Daniil Kvyat won plaudits for a podium, reinforced his growing stature.

"I'd had zero experience in the rain, never mind changing conditions," said Albon, who finished sixth. "The team was like, 'When do you want to pit?' and, 'Is it time for dry tyres?', and I was kind of like, 'I have no idea! Tell me everything!'

That race was part of the impressive jigsaw Albon was assembling, and it was well-timed.

When Gasly turned in his worst performance of the season the following weekend in Hungary, Red Bull team boss Christian Horner and motorsport advisor Dr Helmut Marko initially came out in support, saying their intention was to keep him in the car. But one week into F1's summer break, that changed.

Albon would partner Verstappen for the remainder of the season, auditioning for the role full-time for 2020, while Gasly was to return to Toro Rosso.

October 2019: Staking his claim

Albon grabbed his chance and swiftly validated Red Bull's call.

He confesses now that it triggered the same "question marks and thought process" as in pre-season, but the tough nature of his F1 baptism left him feeling well prepared.

Hitting the ground running helped calm nerves early. Albon had a free pass in Belgium as engine penalties relegated him to the back of the grid. But as he moved up the order, there was little sign of the hesitancy that hobbled Gasly so badly.

While Albon's qualifying speed would not prove especially noteworthy over the next races, he was closer to Verstappen than Gasly tended to be. That was despite missing the luxury of pre-season in the car, and facing a run of six races from Singapore to Brazil where Albon was experiencing the track for the first time.

Yet he was consistently decent, occasionally superb (Japan qualifying) and endearing himself to the team by asking the right questions and giving good engineering feedback. Albon drew plenty of admirers - including the world champion.

"It's a real challenge to go up against a driver [Verstappen] that's been spoken so highly of by so many people and built up onto a pedestal," says Hamilton. "And to have come in so young, with all the difficulties he's had in his life as well. His life story is quite an interesting one."

Albon was giving Red Bull every reason to sign him for a full season in 2020. But he was hardly counting down the days until a decision, and reckons his career-long uncertainty helped keep him focused.

"Instability has made me not care about it, in a weird way," he said.

November 2019: Completing the turnaround

Albon's 2020 deal came as no great surprise. Verstappen correctly called it the "smartest way of continuing".

In Brazil, Albon almost celebrated with a maiden F1 podium, but was tapped into a spin by Hamilton while running second with one and a half laps remaining. Instead of licking his wounds, Albon underlined his awareness to improve.

He will need to get closer to Verstappen and score bigger results. Pre-season testing in Spain will be the first steps towards this.

"That's seat time, and playing around with different things," says Albon. "Once I can really start to push the car, I will. That's where the lap time is."

Limited track time to experiment has restricted how much Albon can understand what he needs from his Red Bull so far. But it is another feather in his cap that he has adjusted so well in a tricky setting.

"He's got a bright future ahead of him," says Hamilton. "I hope Red Bull give him the support over the years. It's very, very important because they often spit drivers out pretty quick if they don't always do the job. I hope they're good to him."

If Albon continues on his current trajectory, Red Bull will have no choice but to be anything else. Expectations will be higher, but pressure tends to bring the best out of a driver who has known little else.

Gasly: From hero to zero (to hero again)

No matter how well Albon has done in Gasly's place, Red Bull would rather it had never needed to find out.

All who know Gasly have been pleased to see him react so strongly to being demoted. Any lingering sulkiness on the first day back in the paddock in Belgium quickly evaporated and was replaced by a desire to prove a few people wrong.

Which he has done: Gasly scored points in more than half of the races he contested for Toro Rosso this year, including a shock second place in Brazil.

When Gasly lost his drive at Red Bull, his place on the programme was in jeopardy. Sure, he remained part of the Red Bull family, but it looked unlikely he could make himself a legitimate Red Bull Racing candidate again.

Much like his Toro Rosso team-mate Daniil Kvyat, who fills something of a placeholder role, a lack of immediate alternatives within the Red Bull driver pool probably helped put Gasly in a peculiar limbo - still in F1, still contracted to Red Bull, but with no real likelihood of getting another big chance.

But Gasly has earned the right to have an extended stay with Toro Rosso next season and the version of him on display in the second half of 2019 is good enough to race for Red Bull again.

"His confidence has been recovering and he's put in some great performances," says Red Bull team boss Christian Horner. "That's why we took up the option on him again for 2020."

Before the 2019 season began, a breakthrough podium finish felt like a necessity for Gasly to keep his Red Bull seat. Now it's just one of the steps he's taken towards winning it back.