Alex Albon doesn't believe Daniel Ricciardo would be willing to follow his example in order to get back on to the Formula 1 grid.
Albon dropped out of the sport for a year after his 18-month spell racing for Red Bull came to an end in 2020. In order to resurrect his stalling F1 career, he agreed to join a much less competitive team, in the form of Williams.
While his new employers struggled again at the back of the grid last year, Albon was individually impressive. His achievements were recognised by his fellow racers, who voted him in the top eight performers last year despite finishing 19th in the drivers' standings.
With Ricciardo now taking an enforced year out, their situations have been compared. But, as Albon recently pointed out, there are differences between them – in terms of their respective experience levels, and also what they are willing to do to make sure they remain racing in F1.
"To be honest, I haven't spoken with him since [Ricciardo left the grid], the British-Thai racer told reporters. "Mine wasn't my choice – his one is and I think he's a different age and in a different frame of mind. When I was away from Formula 1, I think I was 24 years old, and there was a lot of hunger and desire to get back into F1.
"I don't know as I can only speak for myself, but I imagine Daniel – who has been a very successful racing driver – probably wouldn't want to join a team unless it was a top team.
"It would be like he's just restarting his racing career again, which being like myself, I am more than happy to do. I would do it 10 times over, and think that's really the main difference."
When McLaren announced the mutual termination of Ricciardo's contract, there were still other teams on the grid with open places. Alpine were the most competitive of those outfits, but there was always the feeling that Pierre Gasly was their top target after Oscar Piastri said no.
Williams, Haas and AlphaTauri were all on the hunt for a new driver. But, instead of joining one of the smaller teams to keep himself in a race seat, the 33-year-old chose to return to the Red Bull fold as a reserve in the hope something better will come along in 2024.
