Alex Albon believes it is essential that he returns to Formula 1 in 2022, even if not necessarily with Red Bull.
The London-born Thai driver has spent this season as a reserve driver after Sergio Perez was chosen to take his seat alongside Max Verstappen.
In addition, Albon has been putting in a lot of work in the simulator, earning high praise from Red Bull with motorsport advisor Helmut Marko recently describing him as their “greatest asset” in development.
Even so, Albon admits 2021 has been tough despite his other duties because of his desire to jump straight back to F1.
“Of course, I still play a role in the team and that’s why I’m very happy with the fact that Red Bull is doing so well this F1 season,” he told RacingNews365.
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“But logically, I’m also a bit disappointed because I’m not in the car myself.
“I’m a sportsman and you aspire to be the best, that’s why it was especially difficult in the first race in Bahrain to see that I wasn’t competing myself. It remains difficult to watch F1 races this season.
“Because I still play a role in the team, I can deal with the fact that I’m not driving in F1 myself at the moment, but it’s not easy.
“I would like to drive in F1 myself again and hopefully in the future, I will be able to do that again. That is why I will continue to work hard in the simulator and also in the DTM series.
“That is a completely different category, but it is nice to be able to race at a competitive level.”
While Albon admits a return to F1 in 2022 would not be the absolute end of the world when it comes to his career, his desire to make his absence as short as possible is clear.
“In terms of age, no [I’m not old]. But F1 moves relatively quickly,” he admitted via Formula1.com.
“More than a year out, the car gets tricky. A year’s break is as much as you can do. That’s what Esteban [Ocon] did. Fernando [Alonso] is a different example, but Fernando is Fernando!
“The car evolves so quickly, technology is improving. There isn’t a series out there that is close to F1. You can’t jump around and do different things.
“So it’s one year [out] maximum. A lot of the push now is making sure I can do everything I can and also being active myself, looking around, seeing what is out there for me.”
While a return to Red Bull or AlphaTauri appears off the cards, Albon has been recently linked to Alfa Romeo and Williams.
“There isn’t much [in terms of free seats for 2022],” he acknowledged. “In some respects, I’m reliant on others not performing. It’s just the driver market in F1.
“I was lucky when I got my chance in F1, with Daniel [Ricciardo] moving that shifted everything over. This year it looks a little stale in that sense.
“If a race seat isn’t available here, there are a couple of teams out there that there are possibilities with. It’s just one of those things where you have to wait and see.
“Everyone has been super nice to me at Red Bull. Helmut [Marko] and Christian [Horner], I’m sure if an opportunity did come about they would be open in helping me and supporting me. I’m sure the sim and reserve role would still be an option too.
“For now, my main focus is F1 to see if there’s some space. Then we’ll see.”
Ironically, Albon’s career could come full circle as the Nissan e.dams team in Formula E has identified Alex as a potential option for Season 9.
Back in 2018, the 25-year-old did sign with the Japanese manufacturer only to break that contract to join AlphaTauri in F1 in 2019.
“Obviously he [Albon] is amongst the ones we are considering and he kept contact with us so we are talking regularly,” Nissan team manager Francois Sicard told The Race.
“He’s following what we do, so we are very close to Alex and he could be amongst the one we can select. But there are others and you have to know that Alex might also have other opportunities.”