Alexander Albon admitted it was ‘quite an easy decision’ to opt out of his deal to race in FIA Formula E in order to fulfil a career-long dream of racing in Formula 1 in 2019.
The Anglo-Thai driver was set to race alongside Sebastien Buemi at Nissan e.dams in the 2018-19 Formula E campaign only for Scuderia Toro Rosso to come knocking at his door, opening the way for Albon to make his debut in Formula 1 alongside Russian racer Daniil Kvyat.
The Formula E drive ultimately went the way of Oliver Rowland but despite this, Albon feels the decision to choose Toro Rosso and Formula 1 was the right move for him, and he has already been rewarded by two top ten finishes in his opening four races, including a drive from the pit lane to the points in the Chinese Grand Prix that earned him the ‘driver of the day’ award.
“Coming from Formula E, making the transition, there is always a risk there,” Albon is quoted as saying by Crash.net. “But when I was six years old, whenever I thought about motorsport, Formula 1 is what any driver wants to do when they’re young.
“Of course even from Formula 2, the goal was always Formula 1. But as it looked less and less likely. That’s when I went to Formula E.
“So when I got the chance again, it was quite clear to me what I wanted to do. Of course there is less stability in Formula 1 probably, but still saying that, in Formula E you still have to perform, you still have to deliver results.
“On my side, it was just no regrets. You don’t want to miss out on your one chance on Formula 1. So that was quite an easy decision.”
