How Monza shows Albon's transformation to fearsome F1 battler
OPINION: When Alex Albon was offered a second chance at the Formula 1 table following his troubled tenure at Red Bull, he came with minor scars to his reputation. At Williams, he's undone that damage and carved out a niche as a fearsome, elbows-out warrior
In the heat of battle, one imagines that there are two different things that the current crop of Formula 1 drivers have least enjoyed facing up against this season. Seeing a bright yellow nosecone in their mirrors is guaranteed to be one of them, particularly when attached to the #1-marked Red Bull; after all, its very visage injects a creeping sense of inevitability into any wheel-to-wheel battle if it finds itself out of position.
The other is a little more circumstantial, but it's proven to be the case more than once this year: Alex Albon's rear wing. Like Gandalf facing up against the Balrog in Lord of the Rings, the FW45's mere presence ahead suggests to the driver behind that they shall, indeed, not pass. Just ask Esteban Ocon, Charles Leclerc, or Lando Norris.
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