P1 with Matt and Tommy - Alex Albon makes his P1 debut!

Episode Date: July 16, 2024

With Tommy away, Matt went down to last week's Goodwood Festival of Speed solo - but found a friendly face to speak to, in the form of Williams driver Alex Albon!They chat about having the best merch on the grid, gaming, his childhood Ferrari fandom, some inspirational Big Daddy Vowles goodness and life lessons learned from a round of golf with his girlfriend!P1 Live is heading to North America this Fall and tickets are now on sale! Click here to get your tickets, which are already close to selling out!Sign up to our Patreon here! You'll get access to bonus episodes, our classic race series, every P1 episode ad-free and access to our Discord server where you can chat with other F1 fans!Follow us on socials! You can find us on Twitter, Instagram, Twitch, YouTube and TikTok. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hello everybody and welcome back to the P1 podcast at the Goodwood Festival of Speed. As we've just started this, of course there's an F1 engine revving up, getting it from a cool temperature to a warm one. But I am here, not with Tommy, he's at a wedding as, ah, finally the audio is a little bit more relaxed. I'm here with Alex Albon. Alex, how are you doing, my friend? Hello, very good. Shame Tommy can be here.

Is it his wedding or is it? It's not his wedding, no. It's a Jack Aiken, who you might know. Is he really? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Is he getting married today? Yeah, yeah. congratulations Jack.

Whenever this goes out, happy belated congratulations, Jack. So yeah, Tommy's not here, but you are. So thank you. Thank you. Off the back of a triple header. So probably caught you at the worst time. You just want to go to bed, don't you? I am a walking zombie right now.

No, it's great. It's always a busy one, Silverstone, but obviously it's now at the back of a triple header. We had prety tie test two days ago, and then we had some more SIM stuff to do. So this is like the final thing before we all go home and relax but yeah I bet you can't wait but you are driving a car shortly aren't you as I am I'm not I've just chucked a few espressoes down me yeah we're good to go lovely stuff right

so we have compiled a list of questions from both myself and Tommy okay course couldn't be here and also some fan questions as well yes they are all kinds of stuff I can only imagine I'm looking forward to it let's let's dive into it the first one comes in from M Sully 013 yeah what is the closest you've been to beating your girlfriend at golf oh um I've beaten her at a hole. Okay, one hole. Yes, what happened on that hole? She was in the bunker.

She got a bogey, I got a par, par three. There was another player. Her name's Georgia Hall, who's one of the best players in the UK. So I beat them both on this one hole. That is your claim to fame. That is it. And that's all I can remember. It's such a core memory for me because...

You deleted the rest of the round. Because I beat them on that one hole. You could say I'm a pro now. How did you celebrate out of interest? Were you properly, yeah. I had to be like, yeah. Was it the golf for here? I was like, yeah, I was like, well play, guys.

If you need some tips, let me know. Love it. Okay, so one hole, but not very close over a round. Like, bad. To be fair to you, what I've learned in golf is patience, and I used to be someone who, if I used to play video games, I used to get quite angry, quite easily raged. I'm the same.

But golf has totally flipped. I think golf is a great mental lesson for any person. I used to get so angry because I was so far behind my girlfriend in terms of a skill level to golf. But now I've kind of, I've accepted who I am and I'm there just to have a good time. The problem with golf is that you can have a, for my brain, you can have a really good round,

and then my brain's like, well, this is how you should play every round. And then when you don't, that's when the patience goes. So my issue is I hate not knowing why. Why is the ball? Why is the ball that arrived to someone's house? You know, why is that? With driving, I know everything. I know why something does the way it does.

But once I kind of realized there's an unlimited amount of balls I can use, I can kick the ball if it's behind a tree. Drop out your pocket. Exactly. And Lily lets me do that. So she's very, she's like, just have fun. Whilst I'm working and actually practicing, you go and... You're going to beat your ball.

I'm like this like, I don't know, this dog that she just... Let's run around. Let's all be leading. Okay, amazing. Next question, and it's more to do a Formula One this time, from Mazziah Triple-09. What is the most valuable piece of advice you've been given by a fellow driver, former or current? Hmm, it's a good question. Fellow driver?

I don't think I've had much advice. from other drivers. I think honestly DC has been very good. I remember when I when I first joined Red Bull he really kind of opened my eyes to the discipline and also creating your your routine and your scheduling around like really really prioritizing yourself so he was very organized in his approach to racing making sure that he committed all of his time all of his brain to the racing making sure everything's taking care of that's a distraction so I lent him a lot

from that period and still do, still do to this day he's a great guy with a lot of insight to competing at the top so I don't know what you call that just... I'll say that's good advice isn't it? Mentoring a little bit there is no quote to give that

it was just more about get your shit organised fair enough okay that's a good piece advice to be fair, for everyone, not just F1 drivers. Next question, this was from Tommy. How does it feel to have the best F1 driver merchandise? Oh, very kind, Tommy. Thank you very much. A lot of effort.

Too much effort, really. But worth it. I enjoy it. I love it. It's a bit like a... I like being creative. I like that creative outlet. And so with a friend of mine, Nick Cassidy,

I don't know if you know him, in Formate E, So we go around and we have some fun with it. It's a lot about branding and just like to suffer around branding as much as the merch itself, which if you know me, when I have a spare day and I have to be in a photo shoot, that's not that much fun. But it's all worth it. And for me, it's just engagement with the fans

and trying to just have some fun with it. Oh, lovely stuff. Question, and you've kind of mentioned about gaming. Do you still do any gaming or was it a lockdown thing? So I did gaming before lockdown, then did more gaming during lockdown. And then I don't know if a bit of that whole lockdown thing exhausted me from gaming itself. Like that period where we started doing F1, back then it was the code master's F1. people like George ruined it because he was so good at it he put so much time into it

but he really he got to a level where he was basically like a pro and and then to be half competitive you had to commit you had to go all the way and spend time and I was just thinking to myself like what what am I doing like like I wake up I go training in the gym I go training for this game I go back training to the gym I can go back training for this game and I'm like I lost yeah exactly and you have to do it because you have that competitiveness

in you but at the same time it was like ugh but very recently I got back into it so more casually with friends but yeah just not racing games though just random random stuff there was a question actually

yeah that was a T-M-L-S-N-Barns asks or says ask him about his Valerant rank, I'm begging. Do you play Valoran? I do, but I pay casual. I don't play ranked. My friend of mine, I, like even then, I don't even, I basically join his rank, or we go online, competitive, but he's, he's, he's, he's like, he's so much better. He's, I don't know what, I don't know what the ranks. I think it's diamond or whatever it is, and I'm there, and I just go in, and I ruin. It's like you on the golf course. And everyone who's, who's teammates to me,

Obviously, everyone's diamond rank or whatever. And I'm there just, hey up, hey up, guys. And just, they hate me. You know, everyone on that round, or in our team hates me because I'm there being an idiot. We're skill-based matchmaking as well, so you're up against all diamonds. Exactly. So I'm there, one and 12.

And everyone's like, well, what is this? I don't know any of the strats. But yeah, I say, Valorant is my go-to. I've been getting into this, I don't know if this is a game called Trackmania. Trackmania? Trackmania. Yeah, yeah, I'm a bit of fun to me. It's racing again, though.

It's kind of racing. I mean, I guess the realism is, maybe it is similar to code masters. But yeah, it's a lot of fun. Yeah, lovely stuff. Who's your agent for Valoran? Who would you go for? Is there a character that you choose? Yeah, God.

Who's the lady with the C-4s and the... Oh, the one with the rocket launcher? Yes. Here comes the party one. I can't remember the name. I play valet as well, also very badly. Okay, this next question. So we asked Carlos, we had him on the podcast at Zanvort,

what his hair care routine is. And what was it? And he shocked us all by saying that it was just shampoo and no conditioner, and it literally broke the internet. Alex Albon. Good genetics. What is your hair care routine? I have to use Asian products because my hair is Asian.

I have destroyed my hair. hair in the last two, three years, like totally destroyed it with all the bleach that was used to kind of get it white. So I'm in a recovery process. So I have to use Japanese hair conditioner, shampoo and conditioner. Lily gives me all her potions and lotions and whatnot. She's like, you've got to use this. Your head use this. Okay, fine. So that's my, that's my routine. That's it. I think drivers, we have to shower a lot. Like, you know, it's not that pleasant and hygienic being in a racing car the whole time.

So I shower at least twice a day. And sometimes three. So, yeah. Clean man. You have to stay on top of it, aren't you? Exactly. Places like Singapore. Could you imagine, like with the engineers and they're next to you and then you're just there?

Just wafting. Sinking the face out, yeah. Amazing. Next question, and this is tied in with Goodwood. What would be your dream classic F1 car to drive here? Oof. I mean, I am in the Williams Racing Garage. I think we know where this answer's going, but...

So it's a Ferrari. Michael Schumacher's Ferrari. 2004. Oh, that would be cool. You're a big Shumi fan, aren't you? Mega Shumi fan, yeah. So he was like, yeah, clearly very obsessed. And I had photos of that car.

on my bedroom wall everywhere. So it would definitely be shun-mey. And just to feel what that car's like. I think, obviously, he had a driving style that a lot of drivers struggled with, and I would like to feel what that's like. Like, you know, if I went to a, if I went back in time and I drove his car

around the track that he did well at or, you know, whatever, and he felt that car was good, what is his version of a good balance? Like, is that balance with the groove tires? Is it just this alien-feeling car? Oh, no, what was that? That would be fascinating. Yeah, it would be, I think so, yeah.

Because when I was growing up, I was, Shumi caught me from the minute I watched him. Maybe it's because I'm a glory supporter. I don't know. What was it about Shumi that caught your own? That's probably, I had an obsession with Ferrari, just generally the road cars,

and I love the color red, and then Formula One came along. I was about five or six years old, and yeah, I think, for sure there must have been a glory element. to it but there was also the approach that he had I think he was a when you look at Michael he was clearly a this just fanatic perfectionist and in terms of how he approached racing not just the driving but the approach with his team and building

that morale around the team and his commitment to to the sport fitness whatever it may be is really impressive and so so yeah I've told this story before but My bedroom was I had red walls. I had a red bed. I had red duvet. I had red carpet. Reds carpet. Imagine red carpet.

I'm just imagining walking into this room right now. It looked like a murder scene. It looked awful. I had a red alarm clock, a red lamp. Like everything not red. No, nothing. Anything, anything that could be red was red. Like Ferrari red as well.

Ferrari red. Ferrari red. That bright, like Rosso-Corsa red. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. I think you win the Shoeba fan. That's amazing.

Okay, next question. Actually, it's back to the hair. Okay. As a minor hat. When will you dye your hair again? By the sounds of the answer you've just given, probably not for a while. Not for a while.

I need to recover. And it's still like, it's still fried. Is it? Yeah, it is. The tips, especially. It stumps my hair growth by like three times. Like, like, it just. I don't know what happened.

The problem is, is my hair is really dark, without going too boring. It's really dark, very Asian. So to get it to be white, you have to use a lot of bleach. And I was getting it done in Monaco, and they're not used to dyeing Asian hair. White. European people, yes, but not Asian people. So, I mean, my scalp was bleeding. They were putting, they didn't know what was going on,

and then my hair was turning orange, and then they had to go again and rego again. So why wouldn't it turn white? I have no idea. Then they were massaging the acid into my hair, and it was just, it was awful. I can see why you won't dye your hair for a while. And also I think to myself,

once you go kind of Pasadneum or blondes, and then I would say red is the next safest option, but past that, then you're going into the blues, the greens, the purples and I don't know I don't think I can pull that that off so you're gonna give you some of rest for a little while yeah it's probably a wise decision this one's quite a wholesome one Jenna Catherine XX asks how does it feel to be the most likable guy ever not sure about that it's actually pretty good yeah it is what it is I guess I don't know I

think that's uh speaks to my team people around me they don't think I'm They think I'm a bit of a demon. They're disagreeing. Okay, but it's nice. You're a wholesome guy. Question from me, what is it like working with James Vowles? I find him utterly fascinating to listen to. The way in which he just construct sentences and answers, it's mesmerizing.

What is it like to work with him? We do team talks on a Thursday morning. And it's either to the garage, to the race team, or sometimes it will be at the factory, whatever it may be. He always goes first, obviously, and the speeches he gives. And then he goes, Alex, do you have anything to say? What a follow-up. And I'm just like, hi, guys.

Thank you. Today's going to be our weekend. We never know. Dig deep, guys. We got this. And he's giving these metaphors and these feelings. And I'm like, I just feel like an idiot. And I think that's what James is so smart.

He has a great plan. He has a great idea of what needs to be done. He's very honest, almost too honest sometimes. It's great to have that connection where even when we were going through tough times this year, it was a bit of a reality check in some ways for us, but also more because the changes we have to make to be up at the top are so big that it will in some ways create setbacks as well. It will take a bit of a learning period for us to understand and to get into that routine of what the top team operates like.

So, you know, I was in the middle of renegotiating or extending a contract, but looking elsewhere, truthfully, as well at the same time. And, you know, he was telling me, well, this is going to take longer than I first thought. And I'm like, okay. Oh, that's not that good. But he always has a plan and he really pushes through. And you can tell he really does want this team to succeed. and he's a very smart guy and I believe in what he says

and the process we have so yeah but he needs to make you go first when you're addressing the factory and then he can do his thing I think either way I'm gonna look like the idiot so maybe I'll just do another day or Alex will be here tomorrow to let everybody forget the speech of today

that's fascinating to hear because yeah he's just in every interview I'm just there like wow yeah there's a lot of words I don't understand in this I'm there just with a dictionary going through it yeah next question which of your pets is your personality most like hmm it's a good question um how many pets have you got now I have 12 cats a dog and two horses so so we're up there 15 to be honest with you're not

that close to the horses I'll hold my hand up hopefully they're not listening the cats more so but I have a strong connection to Stan his name's Stan his name's Hugo his real name's Hugo Boss but we call him Stan and or horse he can go three ways you call him horse which can be confusing because then the other two horses you know the two horses are like are they are they calling is he speaking to me and it's like no we're speaking to the cat I can see the confusion yeah and then the horse is looking at the cat

It's all confusion. But him, because he's grumpy. I wouldn't say I'm grumpy, but I'm... You're at the end of a triple header, we'll let you ask. I'm at the end of the triple header, and he's got that kind of resting, kind of a bit of a resting post. But he's a loving guy deep down.

So, yeah, and he's just one of them, he's one of them cats, he's a little bit on the larger side. He likes to, like, he loves to sit on the staircase on his back, but he barely fits on the staircase. and his stomach like hangs out and he's just there like this. You know, I wish I was you right now. I was like, you are, you're my dream.

Like, I want to be you. Okay, that is an amazing explanation. Do you have any weird pre-race rituals? Are you superstitious? Do you wear the same socks if you scored points the weekend before? So I used to be. And Thai people, I would say, are very superstitious, but as it in general.

I think it creates a bit of superstitious. within within everyone my mom is extremely superstitious so I got that from my mum and then as they got older I was like this is not healthy actually because there just there were moments where I was like freaking out because I forgot to put my right glove on first not like in a crazy way but why have it in your mind why why make it be something back to DC just get rid of that get rid of it get rid of it so so I went through a little period where I was like I'm gonna prove myself wrong So I did everything as unlucky as possible.

Okay. And you're doing that? No. That was during, I did that during my season in 2020. Right. No. And that was it. And that was it.

And I don't have anything now. Yeah. There's no pre-race rituals either, like things that you might. Nothing. I used to have like these bracelets. I used to go to temples in I couldn't go to Thailand but there were Buddhist temples all around the UK

and they give you these lucky charms but during my operation during my appendicitis they had to cut all my my bracelets off so that was the last time I had any kind of superstitious thing on me yeah okay

speaking of bracelets I feel like that's the era of friendship bracelets how many friendship bracelets I mean someone given over a weekend I think in in Silverstone we had it like the full arm. I looked like a bracelet transformer.

It's just like, it's pretty extreme. We keep them all though. I don't throw them out. My training keeps a lot of them. And in my apartment in Monaco, there is a lot of bracelets in a drawer. Do you keep? I do, I do. It feels wrong.

You cannot throw them out. I know it's like a special thing, isn't it? It is, it is. And people take time for that. So yeah. Okay, cool. Your Tommy's dad's favorite effort one driver, can you say hello to him and his name is Dean?

Hello Dean. Your son's not very serious about this podcast and he's not really committed so I think you need to have a word with your son. Thank you very much for being a supporter of mine. Maybe we should have had Dean on the podcast today. I didn't ask if he was around. Yeah, he's going to be gutted. He lives in France.

He would have made the trip. Wow. Well, maybe we'll catch a coffee in Monaco one day. There you go. Dean, write that one down. Thunder Muppets asks... Thunder Muppets. Thunder Muppets. If he warms up milk and pours it onto his cereal,

does that mean it can be considered soup and is therefore an acceptable evening meal? It's a good question. Anyone who heats up cereal milk is a psychopath. So don't consider it a meal. Consider yourself a psychopath. Okay, that is perfect. Right, we've asked every single driver

we've had on the podcast. this, what's one rule you'd change in F1? Oh, two-day race weekends. That's it. Very simple. I think why not? Just, I don't mind going to more tracks, races, but just make it two-day race weekends. So how would you split that up?

Practicing quali. Practicing quality on Saturday, race on Sunday. What, one practice, two practice? One practice. One practice, quali. Just get it all going. Like two-day race weekend. We don't need to drag it on.

Spoken like a man off the back of a triple. Press conferences. Get rid of them. Let's relax with them. Maybe we can do it on a Friday if we really need to. But that's my rule. And then anything else? I mean, for me, just get rid of all this hybrid stuff.

Go old school. Go renewable fuels. This is going on a bit of a tangent here. but I feel like everything's optics. The whole thing is optics, you know, looking good, looking everything. I think realistically, how much does the engines contribute to the environmentally friendly part of Formula One?

I don't think it's that much, really, you know. There's a lot more we can do with the way that we travel, with everything else. And we should focus on being net carbon zero rather than reducing the pollutions in the car that we're driving. So if we can offset that in any ways. The net get the naughty engines back. Exactly.

Nice. What a way to end. And the engine is literally about to be fired up. So we're going to end the podcast there. Thank you so much, Alex. Thank you very much. Thank you very much. Thank you very much.

And yeah, we'll see you very soon. Oh, beautiful. What timing. P1 is a stack production and part of the ACAST creator network.