The new F1 Nation podcast episode features Alexander Albon as he opens up on his first podium, how he celebrated plus the Twitch quadruple and more.
A unique episode in that it did not immediately follow a Grand Prix weekend, the latest installment began with not a review of the F1 race preceding it, but rather a discussion about the Le Mans 24 hours, which both hosts Tom Clarkson and Alex Jacques spent some portion of their weekend watching.
The two also chatted about F1’s failed attempt at a race at Le Mans in the 1967 season, and why this Grand Prix did not sit well with drivers of the era – a fact that led to the one-off event’s demise.
Listener questions filled the minutes that followed, with the hosts answering questions on various topics, and replying to probing inquiries about Callum Ilott’s 2020 F2 season, and why he is not more often considered a contender for an F1 seat.
As he is known on the show, AJ (Jacques) drew comparisons to 2018, when Albon, Lando Norris, and George Russell all seemed destined for F1 the following year. This appropriately served as a transition into an interview with the Thai himself, as the Red Bull driver opened with humorous commentary on his driving at last week’s Tuscan GP, where he scored his first podium.
The Thai driver expressed his emotions off the back of his first top three finish, also sharing on his post-podium celebrations, which could only be described as tame: “It feels good – honestly, I’m happy,” he said. “We had a couple of chances to get this podium, and definitely I would have liked it to have happened sooner than it did, but it’s nice. It was a nice time to happen as well if I’m honest, because there’s been a lot of talk and everything.
“It was feeling like Spa and Monza was getting better, and it felt like I was making progress, so to be able to have a weekend where it felt like we got the result we deserved – it’s just nice. And obviously from my side of the garage, these guys had been off that podium for a while, so it was nice to give them something.
“I would say it was one of my better drives. It’s been my Achilles’ heel a little bit, Saturdays with this car. But as… the updates have come along to the car, Saturdays have been feeling better and better, and I’ve been feeling a bit more confident and in tune with the car, which has made the Sundays better as well. But Mugello was a really good race.
“I had a candlelit dinner for one. I literally I treated myself to a T-bone steak and a tiramisu, and then I went to bed. It was quite tragic,” Albon divulged. “We had to do a filming day at a go kart track on the Monday, so I had to stay over in Italy. I was at the hotel which I was staying in all weekend at Mugello and I was completely alone. Actually, there was a couple next to me, who didn’t even know me.”
Albon denied that he felt a sense of urgency prior to his F1 podium, all the while avoiding stating that he ‘went around the outside’ of any drivers – a running gag of the interview. He also spoke on his relationships with others within the young-driver cohort, primarily comprising of himself, Russell of Williams, Norris of McLaren, and one outlier in Charles Leclerc of Ferrari.
Looking ahead to the upcoming Russian GP at Sochi, Albon explained that much of a given car’s pace is dependent on its behavior on what he described as ‘ninety-degree, fourth-gear’ corners, which make up most of the track.
The episode concluded on a rather bizarre note, with discussion among the hosts about some of F1 track designer Hermann Tilke’s best circuits. It didn’t take terribly long for the two to decide on Sepang and Istanbul Park, but nonetheless this segment filled out the remainder of the episode.
Here’s the link of the F1 Nation podcast: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9hdWRpb2Jvb20uY29tL2NoYW5uZWxzLzUwMjQzOTYucnNz/episode/dGFnOmF1ZGlvYm9vbS5jb20sMjAyMC0wOS0yMTovcG9zdHMvNzY4NzkxNA?hl=en-IN&ved=2ahUKEwiylOPE9P7rAhXmzzgGHTnYC_UQieUEegQIDhAF&ep=6
Here’s the last episode of F1 Nation
Here’s F1 Beyond The Grid Podcast on Ferrari