Williams Driver Alex Albon Is on a Quest to Be a 'Better Version of Myself' in Formula 1 Return

Alex Albon knows the challenge of earning a spot in Formula 1 — and the even harder fight of keeping it.

The 26-year-old from London made his F1 debut in 2019 as a part of Toro Rosso (now named AlphaTauri), one of Red Bull's two racing teams. After an impressive showing, the company picked Albon to replace driver Pierre Gasly on their leading racing team, placing him next to future F1 champion Max Verstappen.

But the honeymoon period for Red Bull Racing and Albon was short-lived — Red Bull ultimately moved Albon at the end of the 2020 season, demoting him to a test and reserve driver for 2021.

Though drivers are paid handsomely for their efforts, Red Bull's decision underscores the pressure they face in F1: monumental expectations to deliver results every time they're on track or risk the chance of being cut.

Albon, though, didn't see the demotion as the end of his racing dreams. "I would say within a couple of hours of feeling sorry for myself, it turned into, 'How do I get back?' " he tells PEOPLE.

After being replaced at Red Bull, Albon spent time racing in simulators and fine-tuned his skills. He also drove for Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters, a grand touring car series based out of Germany and Europe.

With dozens of up-and-coming drivers waiting to be chosen for a place in F1, it was never a guarantee that Albon would get the opportunity to return.

But after an entire season away from F1, Albon signed with Williams in September. The team has a rich legacy in the sport and is currently trying to recapture its former glory. Drivers including Juan Pablo Montoya, Damon Hill, and Alan Jones have raced in Williams machines.

Much like Williams, which won its last Constructor's Championship in 1997, Albon is eager to show his potential. After his first race with the team, he spoke with PEOPLE about his comeback story.

PEOPLE: It must feel great to be back in F1 after so long.

Albon: It feels really good. I've been hungry. I've been on the sidelines for a year, and to get back into it, it's been a lot of hard work. But I want to prove myself.

When you lost your seat at Red Bull, what did you tell yourself?

It's quite simple. My desire to perform has been so high. ... I had a plan in my head [to return]. "What does it take? What do I need to do?" Because it's a tricky situation that you're in. You're not actually driving the car, so you can't truly prove yourself on circuits. So how can I become a team player? How can I get performance? And a lot of that was doing simulator work and reserve work for Red Bull, at the time.

I spent 20 days a month in a simulator, making sure that in 2021, the Red Bull car was fast. And fortunately, maybe a very, very small part of that was what I did, but it felt good. It felt like my value as a driver went up, and that put me in a good position. And obviously, I spoke with Williams' team principal and we had a good chat and one thing moved led to another.

I got my opportunity, for one, thanks to him. It wasn't difficult for me to become motivated because that's ingrained into who I am. And yet, you never know if you're truly going to get a seat or not. During the first six months, it looked to me like my chances were slim. And nevertheless, I put my head down and made a few phone calls, but it's happened.

As an athlete, how do you deal with self-doubt, or cope with a hit to your confidence?

I look back at my previous years, and I ask myself, "Okay, what do I need to do to become a better driver? How can I be a better person than who I was previously?" And I looked at fixing my weaknesses as much as I could. It's a just tricky situation because I'm not driving the car. A lot of these things had to be ideas, but also things outside the car — mentally, physically, whatever it may be — to put me in the best shape I could be. But I did have a good idea of the real areas I wanted to work on.

That feeling of improvement, tough acknowledgment, and finding ways to improve yourself removes that self-doubt, to some extent, because you're actively working on it, and it puts you in a good headspace. It did for me, knowing what I'm doing is making myself a better driver. That was it.

Coming into this season, I felt — even though I had a year away from racing — I was actually better prepared than I ever was. I felt I had a game plan. I know it's the first race, and it's very early to talk about it, but it feels like, already on the first weekend, it went positive. It went very well. A lot of that is manifesting and making sure that you feel like you've got all the areas covered in terms of ways that I've approved. And that's how I went about my racing.

How did it feel to get the news from Williams that you had earned a spot back on the grid?

It's that feeling you've worked for so long — pure joy, of course. I was super happy once I got told that everything was done. Very thankful to everyone at Williams. But at the same time, it quickly switched to, "Okay, here we go. It's your time to show yourself and put all that you said you're going to do to work." And so pretty much straight away, as soon as it got announced, I was working with the team and speaking with the guys in any way I could help. We started immediately working with the team on the simulator and listening to the guys at the factory, going into the factory, and preparing for my season ahead.

It must have been awesome driving again for the first race of the season.

I was really, really happy. I was proud of myself. It felt like I put myself on the map, on the radar.

Putting yourself on the map — is that a goal of yours this season?

Of course. There are only 20 seats left, so you need to do a good job. I know the pressures of Formula 1.

At the same time, you do a sport you love, and I love what I do. It's that fine balance. And to be able to deliver results, it makes you relax. It makes you feel confident in your driving, and you just go from — it's like a stepping stone. The energy between the team and yourself, it's a really cool thing.

It's like you're building momentum.

Exactly. Of course with new regulation changes this year, there's been a glimmer of excitement and uncertainty as to how the season's going to unfold. New regulations mean new chances.

We're in a good place, and I'm happy with the car. Just now, we've done race one, and it's about fine-tuning and using that momentum to push us into race two, race three, and so on.

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What is it about the sport that made you want to fight to return?

I can't even tell you why I love it. With racing, it's something that I ask myself often. Why do I like it so much? But I think it's just a general love for the sport. I was four, five years old, and only wanted to be a Formula 1 driver. I used to draw tracks and do the racing lines. I would obsess about it. And after school, once I was old enough — eight years old — to drive a GoCart, I'd annoy my dad like crazy to drive one. I'd tell him to use a stopwatch because I wanted him to time me to see if I was getting better or faster. Literally what I was doing was maybe a figure of eight, just five, six times because we didn't have the space to have a track. It was just a patch of grass.

The obsession was deep within me, and it stuck. I'd say a lot of that came from my dad, though. He used to race a little bit. And so I got the passion from there.

During your year off from the grid, is there anyone or anything you turned to for motivation?

It's always the people closest to you — my family and my girlfriend, my friends. At the end of the day, I think it happens in most sports, but the higher up you go, the more isolated you can sometimes feel. And there's a lot of talk. There's a lot of background noise in Formula 1, as it is in most sports, with the media, with TV, and even with teams themselves.

You need a very strong circle around you. I have a very strong circle. But leaning on them, and that's where you get your inner peace, but also your motivation. And of course, there are days when you feel negative and things aren't going your way, but they're the ones that keep you in check and boost you up when them moments happen.

Now that you're back, what is your hope for the future ahead?

I think if I talk about the short term, it's really to be that driver that I want to be, to be a better version of myself than I have been. I can look back at the end of the year and see that I've improved from the beginning.

Also, as a team person, it's to bring Williams up to where they belong. We've had a decent start to the year, but we want more. And I feel like part of me is very hungry to bring us back.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.