Alex Albon has openly admitted that he used to throw the “biggest tantrums” as a child, when seven-time World Champion Michael Schumacher failed to win.
The Formula 1 legend is a hero to thousands of people across the globe, including the Thai driver.
Schumacher retired from F1 initially at the conclusion of the 2006 season, before he returned with Mercedes in 2010 before calling it a day again at the end of 2012.
12 months later, he suffered his horrific head injury, following an almost deadly skiing accident.
Want to work in Formula 1? Browse the latest F1 job vacancies
Little is known of the German’s condition, in what remains as one of the saddest stories in modern sport.
Albon discussed his icon on a recent podcast appearance, where he revealed that he became a horror to live with them Schumacher failed to win.
Schumacher being victorious – something which happened 91 times – made Albon happy, to the extent that he used to put on a VHS of the 2001 F1 season when he was having a “bad day”, as watching the ex-Ferrari win made him happy.
The 2001 season was won by Schumacher, in what was his fourth title and his second consecutive for Ferrari.
“I was an obsessed kid when I was growing up, one of my first words was Ferrari, which I would call ‘rari’,” Albon told the High Performance Podcast.
“I was a massive Michael Schumacher fan, I used to throw the biggest tantrums as a kid if Michael didn’t win.
“My mum used to have a VHS of 2001 Formula 1 highlights review and I knew all of the races that he won that year so as soon as I would have an off or a bad day or whatever, that was straight on playing all of Michael’s wins.”
READ: Alain Prost reacts to ‘negative’ Max Verstappen claim
Whilst he failed to perform in Schumacher-esq fashion this year, Albon’s second season with Williams was certainly a success.
The ex-Red Bull driver led the Grove-based team superly in 2023 and is largely responsible for them having secured seventh in the Constructors’ Championship, something which is huge for them.
Whilst the last three rounds were disappointing for Albon, he secured seven top-10 finishes this year, enough to clinch 13th in the Drivers’ Championship.