Lewis Hamilton has come under fire from the Red Bull hierarchy once more. This time it is Dr. Helmut Marko who is pointing the finger at the Briton. The Red Bull advisor blamed Hamilton for Alex Albon’s unsuccessful time on the team.
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Alex Albon came through the youth ranks at Red Bull before joining Toro Rosso. He then made the step up to Red Bull halfway throughout the 2019 season. However, his time at the team was quite underwhelming. Although he scored 2 podiums in their time at Red Bull, he failed to match teammate Max Verstappen in identical machinery.
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In addition, Hamilton knocked Albon off track on 2 occasions; Brazil 2019 and Austria 2020 ruining the Thai-British driver’s chances of further podiums and a win. Helmut Marko said in an interview with The Red Bulletin, “Lewis Hamilton didn’t destroy his career, but he did put a dampener on it,”
He added, “[Albon] was in second place in Brazil in 2019 when Hamilton drove him off the track. Then Alex wanted to pass Hamilton on the outside at the Red Bull Ring in 2020 but got pushed onto the gravel.
He would have won that race, but he came away empty-handed. He took a long time to get over that.”
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Whatever be the case, Albon made his return to F1 this year with Williams, and holds no grudges, against the Briton.
Helmut Marko tracks back on the previous Lewis Hamilton Alex Albon feud
Lewis Hamilton has not always enjoyed the cleanest of battles when it came to Alex Albon. The Briton arguably robbed the Thai driver of a podium in Brazil in 2019 and his first ever F1 win in Austria in 2020. These incidents were on some level the bane of Albon’s time with Red Bull.
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Formula One F1 – Austrian Grand Prix – Red Bull Ring, Spielberg, Austria – July 10, 2022 Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc celebrates on the podium after winning the Austrian Grand Prix as Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton celebrates after placing third REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger
However, previously, Helmut Marko had laid the blame off Hamilton for Albon’s downfall. He said, “Lewis Hamilton didn’t destroy his career, but he held himself back”.
Albon himself also said, “I would never, never blame Lewis for what’s happened to me. It’s all on me. It’s just one of those things.”
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However, his recent statements contradict his earlier opinion. He has gone on to lay the blame on Hamilton for Alex Albon’s struggles at Red Bull.
