Albon was born at the Portland Hospital in the City of Westminster, London, on 23 March 1996. His father, Nigel Albon, is a British former racing driver who participated in the British Touring Car Championship and Porsche Carrera Cup. His mother, Kankamol "Minky" Albon (née Ansusinha), originates from Thailand. His uncle, Mark Albon, is a former racing driver who competed in one round of International Formula 3000. Growing up in Bures, Suffolk alongside a younger brother, Luca, and three sisters, Albon attended Ipswich School before leaving to pursue his professional racing career. He has cited Michael Schumacher and Valentino Rossi as inspirational figures from his youth.
Albon started competitively racing karts in 2005 at the age of eight, competing locally and winning the Hoddesdon Championship at Rye House Kart Circuit. In 2006 he finished first at the Kartmasters British Grand Prix and participated in the Super 1 National Honda Cadet Championship, finishing first in 2006 and second in 2007. In 2008 he was signed to the Red Bull Junior Team and moved to the KF3 class. During this period he won the Kartmasters British Grand Prix, Formula Kart Stars Championship, KF Winter Series, Super 1 National KF3 Championship, CIK-FIA World Cup, and CIK-FIA European Championship. In 2011 he graduated to KF1, placing second in the WSK Euro Series and second at the CIK-FIA World Championship. He was dropped by Red Bull at the end of 2012.
Albon graduated to the Formula Renault 2.0 Eurocup series in 2012, driving for EPIC Racing alongside Kevin Giovesi and others, finishing 38th out of 49 in the championship. In 2013 he was signed to the Lotus F1 Academy and joined KTR, securing one fastest lap and one pole position at the Red Bull Ring, finishing 16th out of 36 with 22 points. In 2014 Albon raced alongside Gregor Ramsay, Jules Gounon, and Callan O'Keefe, managed one pole position at the Nürburgring, and finished third in the drivers' championship with 117 points.
In 2015 Albon switched to FIA Formula 3 European Championship, racing at Signature with teammate Dorian Boccolacci. He finished seventh overall, with two pole positions scored at the Norisring, five podiums including four rookie wins, and 187 points.
In December 2015 Albon partook in post-season testing with ART Grand Prix. In 2016 he raced for ART in the GP3 Series, claiming four wins and finishing as runner-up in the championship to teammate Charles Leclerc.
In 2017 Albon graduated to the FIA Formula 2 Championship with ART, partnering Nobuharu Matsushita. He missed the Baku round after sustaining a broken collarbone in a mountain biking training ride and was unable to compete due to the over-the-shoulder seat belts used in Formula 2. He scored his first Formula 2 podium at the sprint race following Baku, finishing behind Artem Markelov. He finished tenth in the drivers' championship with 86 points.
In April 2018, DAMS announced Albon for the 2018 season to partner Nicholas Latifi. He started from pole and took his first F2 win in the feature race at Baku. He went on to win the feature race at Silverstone, and further sprint victories at the Hungaroring and Sochi. A stall on the grid in the Abu Dhabi feature race ended his title chances; he finished third in the drivers' championship behind George Russell and Lando Norris.
On 26 November 2018, Nissan e.dams terminated their Formula E contract with Albon, and on the same day Toro Rosso announced he would join the team for 2019 alongside Daniil Kvyat. He is the second Thai driver to compete in Formula One and the first since Prince Birabongse Bhanudej competed in 1954. Albon qualified thirteenth and finished fourteenth in his debut at the Australian Grand Prix, then scored his first points at the Bahrain Grand Prix in ninth place. At the German Grand Prix he and Toro Rosso took advantage of changing weather conditions to finish sixth, behind teammate Kvyat who claimed the team's first podium in over ten years. At this stage of the season, Albon had scored 16 points to Kvyat's 27.
After the Hungarian Grand Prix, Red Bull Racing announced Albon would replace Pierre Gasly and partner Max Verstappen from the Belgian Grand Prix onwards. At the Belgian Grand Prix, Albon started seventeenth due to a power unit change and recovered to fifth. He and Verstappen set identical lap times in qualifying at the Japanese Grand Prix, with Albon finishing a career-best fourth in the race. In Brazil he was in second place on the penultimate lap but was hit by Lewis Hamilton during an overtaking attempt, dropping to fourteenth. He ended his debut season eighth in the World Drivers' Championship with 92 points and received the Rookie of the Year award at the FIA Prize Giving Ceremony.
In 2020 Albon continued racing for Red Bull alongside Verstappen. He took his maiden Formula One podium at the Tuscan Grand Prix by overtaking Daniel Ricciardo in the closing laps, becoming the first Thai Formula One driver to achieve a podium. He took his second podium at the Bahrain Grand Prix after Sergio Pérez retired from third due to engine failure, making him the first Asian driver to score more than one podium finish. He finished the season seventh in the World Drivers' Championship with 105 points to Verstappen's 214.
Albon was demoted to the role of test and reserve driver with Red Bull for 2021, his race seat taken by Sergio Pérez. He participated in 14 out of 16 races of the 2021 Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters with AF Corse alongside Formula 2 driver Liam Lawson, with financial backing from Red Bull and AlphaTauri. On 22 August 2021, Albon won his maiden DTM race at the Nürburgring, becoming the first Thai driver to win a DTM race. He also took on a coaching role for AlphaTauri driver Yuki Tsunoda starting from the 2021 Turkish Grand Prix.
Albon returned to a Formula One race seat in 2022 with Williams, replacing George Russell and partnering Nicholas Latifi. Red Bull team principal Christian Horner revealed Albon retained "a link to Red Bull" and that the team had an option to recall him for 2023. He scored his first point for Williams at the Australian Grand Prix by finishing tenth after starting from last place. At the Belgian Grand Prix he reached Q3 for the first time with Williams, qualifying ninth. He was forced to withdraw from the Italian Grand Prix after suffering from appendicitis and was replaced by Nyck de Vries; Williams later revealed Albon had suffered anaesthetic-related respiratory failure following his surgery. He ended the 2022 season nineteenth, scoring four of Williams' eight points.
Albon was retained by Williams for 2023 on a multi-year contract, partnering Logan Sargeant. His contract extension marked the end of his Red Bull affiliation. He finished seventh at the Canadian Grand Prix in his best result thus far for Williams, receiving praise from Red Bull team principal Christian Horner. He matched his highest career qualifying position at the Dutch Grand Prix, starting fourth, and scored 27 points to Sargeant's one, securing Williams seventh in the Constructors' Championship.
In 2024, Williams confirmed on 15 May that Albon had signed a multi-year extension to stay with the team. After the Dutch Grand Prix, Franco Colapinto became Albon's new teammate from the Italian Grand Prix onwards. Albon did not start the São Paulo Grand Prix after crashing heavily in qualifying, with Williams unable to repair his chassis in time. He finished the season sixteenth in the Drivers' Championship with 12 points.
From 2025, Albon partnered Carlos Sainz Jr. He qualified sixth and finished fifth at the rain-affected Australian Grand Prix and scored additional points finishes through the season, finishing fifth in Miami, Emilia-Romagna, and the Netherlands.
As of the 2026 Japanese Grand Prix, Albon has achieved two podium finishes and one fastest lap in Formula One. He is contracted to remain at Williams until at least the end of the 2027 season.
Albon holds dual British and Thai nationality and races under the Thai flag for sponsorship reasons. He is a practicing Buddhist. He has been publicly dating Chinese LPGA golfer Lily He since 2019; the couple announced their engagement in January 2026. In interviews, Albon has spoken publicly about the mental pressure during his Formula 1 career, stating he was "destroyed mentally" from the pressures and criticism at Red Bull, and later turned to a psychologist to improve his mental well-being. He has worked with performance coach and physiotherapist Patrick Harding throughout his Formula 1 career.
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