SINGAPORE — Asians thinking about a career in Formula One driving are still fairly rare compared to aspirants from Europe, Thai-British F1 driver Alex Albon has told TODAY.
Still, the 27-year-old driver with the Williams Racing team said he's seeing signs of greater interest in countries including Thailand and he's observing “impressive” talent coming out of mainland China.
“It's been a talking point in my career. you know, am I Thai, am I British?” said Albon. His reply is familiar to many with a mixed heritage:"I’m both.” “It’s an elitist sport; we have to be real with the fact that the amount of money needed to make it into Formula One is around US$6 million to US$7 million to finish Formula Two to have a chance to get into Formula One,” Albon said.
From here, Formula 3 races cost US$400,000 per season before a driver makes their debut in Formula 2, which is US$2.5 million per season. Formula 2 drivers would have to race for a couple of years before they get noticed by an F1 team. This impressed the Italian F1 team, Scuderia Toro Rosso, who signed him in 2019. He made his debut that year in the Australian Grand Prix before joining Red Bull Racing and then Williams.
Albon said that choosing racing as a career requires a huge sacrifice by one's family and those around you.“A lot of people don't make it in the end. I don't think I would like my kids to race because I know how difficult it is to get to the top.”