Abu Dhabi 2021 myth debunked concerning Red Bull radio message

Alex Albon has denied it was him who shouted to Max Verstappen seconds after the Dutchman won his first world title in 2021.

As Verstappen crossed the finish line in Abu Dhabi, a voice came over the radio shouting “Oh my lord, Max! Oh my god!” followed by Verstappen’s cheering, with a couple of questions about just who it was – and one rumour being it was Albon.

It was not a crazy theory either with Albon part of the Red Bull organisation as reserve driver at the time, but he has denied it was him who made the shout.

Alex Albon denies credit for Max Verstappen radio shout

In 2021, Albon was on the sidelines at Red Bull having lost his seat to Sergio Perez but did spend plenty of time at their Milton Keynes HQ in the sim, helping Verstappen on the way to his title win.

Therefore it was not out of the question that it could have been Albon on the radio but, when asked about that moment, he has revealed it was another Red Bull staff member.

“That wasn’t me!” he told Motorsport Total. “That was GP.”

The GP Albon refers to Giampsie Lambiase, Verstappen’s long-time race engineer.

“You just felt the whole season literally boiling down to one lap,” GP recalled. “I knew inside of me at that time, on a fresh set of tyres, Max would not have given up that opportunity for anyone.

“I think I would like to say I’m fairly calm, collected, rational in a lot of my radio transmissions and communications to Max. But I have to admit that was me screaming down the radio at that point and not Albon, bless him.”

Both drivers have flourished in different ways since 2021 with Verstappen continuing to win titles and Albon finding a new home at Williams.

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On the varying approaches, Albon said every team principal he has worked with has been different.

“2022 was a very positive year for me, regardless of who is the highest-ranking person in the team. Most of it comes from self-reflection and self-improvement,” the British-Thai driver said.

“Of course there are different ways of working. I now had four team bosses: Franz [Tost], then Helmut [Marko] and Christian [Horner], then Jost [Capito] and now James. They all have their own personalities, they all work differently.

“The most important thing at Williams is that the focus is long-term. It’s about building the team together. They rely on me to help steer the team in the right direction. And I like that role. I I want to take this team forward.”

“The dynamic we have at Williams is completely different to that at Red Bull. Simply because I’m coming into a team where we’re just about to move forward and get promoted. We’re coming off a tough few years out and try to develop this team. The way the team works and the culture is completely different, as you can imagine.”

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