Alex Albon confesses what F1 drivers really complain about in private WhatsApp chat
Alex Albon has served up some intriguing details about what is discussed in the F1 drivers' private WhatsApp group
Alex Albon has lifted the lid on what F1 stars complain about in their drivers’ WhatsApp group. The Williams ace has confirmed the presence of a private group where he and his rivals regularly converse.
Nearing 100 grand prix starts, having made his F1 debut back in 2019, Albon is something of a veteran of the group. The Thai driver has given up some tantalising details about what is talked about and, in particular, what they like to moan about.
He also divulged the topics of other spin-off groups, including one which sums up the glamour and lifestyle of F1 stars in a nutshell. In a clip shared by Cosmopolitan UK TikTok feed, he confirmed: “There is a drivers’ WhatsApp group.
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“It’s very business-orientated. I would say it’s 90% business, 10% memes. It’s more around safety and general day-to-day [business].
“For example, we’ll complain about the toilets being bad at a racetrack or something like that, which has no relevance. I guess it’s a bit of a global ranting forum.”
Aside from the main F1 chat group, the other groups discuss drivers’ off-track activities like padel and golf. He then rather coyly admitted there was a private jet group for drivers who share planes flying to and from races.
Albon then also mused about the potential awkwardness of drivers who had clashed during a race – like friends Max Verstappen and Lando Norris at the Austrian Grand Prix – then being forced to share small, albeit luxurious, aircrafts.
@cosmopolitanuk Discussing private jets and complaining about toilets… F1s Alex Albon spills on all the group chat gossip ?????? #alexalbon #f1 #maxverstappen #landonorris ♬ original sound - CosmopolitanUK
“I wonder how it works because a lot of our managers are involved in it and if a driver has a bad race or a driver crashes into another driver and they’re on the same plane,” he said. “That hasn’t happened to me yet, but does that driver then go to another driver’s plane and fly with another group of drivers.”
Presumably referring to the Verstappen-Norris clash in Austria, which took the latter out of the race, he added: “I was on a flight with Lando, Carlos [Sainz] and Daniel [Ricciardo], but Max wasn’t on our flight so they were never supposed to be flying together.”
Albon, who will be joined by Sainz at Williams next year, is in action at the Dutch Grand Prix, where he made a promising start to the weekend. With Norris fastest in his McLaren, Albon was sixth quickest in a rain-affected first practice session at Zandvoort.
