EXCLUSIVE: ‘I pretty much live in a suitcase’ – How Albon navigates the realities of life on the road in F1

Between the Azerbaijan Grand Prix and the final race of the season, Alex Albon expects to spend only five days at his home in Monaco. For much of the rest of the year, he says, he will be living out of a suitcase.

This week, Formula 1 reaches the final stop of a triple-header that began in Baku before moving to Malaysia and then Singapore across three consecutive race weekends.

Along the way, the paddock has moved four hours ahead from Azerbaijan to Southeast Asia, as well as between very different climates and race schedules. Malaysia and Singapore may share the same time zone but, after a daytime race at Sepang, Singapore’s sessions take place much later as part of its famous night race.

After seven years in the world of F1, Williams driver Alex Albon has plenty of experience managing the travel that comes with the calendar. Speaking to F1.com in Baku at the start of the triple-header, however, he explained that the travel has never quite become second nature.

“No, it does feel like a lot,” he says when asked whether he ever gets used to stretches like this. “There’s the time zone shifting, which obviously we all have to deal with, and then there’s the physicality of the races themselves, which makes a big difference.

“Malaysia and Singapore are the two most physical tracks we have of the year, and they’re back-to-back, so that’s going to be a real challenge for us.

“On top of that, we’re shifting time zones between Malaysia and Singapore. Even though they are an hour’s flight away, because one is a night race and one is a day race, it’s around eight hours of time zone shifting that you need to do.”

Much of Albon’s schedule is therefore planned long before he arrives at the circuit. His manager works with Williams around team, partner and travel commitments, while his own plans after Singapore include another stop in Thailand.

“I spend every year trying to optimise my travel and my energy levels,” he explains. “You can’t imagine how much time my manager spends on scheduling and speaking with the team.

“We have partners that we need to fulfil [commitments for], and because of my Thai background, I’m going to Thailand after Singapore as well, so it does become busy.”

Living out of a suitcase

The amount of time Albon spends travelling becomes particularly clear when looking at the remainder of his season.

“From now until the last race of the year, I’ll spend five days in Monaco at home,” he admits. “During the second half of the season, I pretty much live in a suitcase. It is weird to think about.

“We travel with a big suitcase where you have to be prepared for cold weather, hot weather, all that stuff. Honestly, I buy things on the road, whether it’s underwear, socks or plain shirts, just to keep ticking over.”

When asked whether he ever unpacks, he laughs: "No, I'm the opposite! We try to fly in as late as we can. Even when we go back to Europe, we’re often returning to the UK for simulator work or marketing days with the team.

“By the time we leave again, it’s normally Wednesday night, or even Thursday morning for a European race. I don’t spend much time in the hotel. When we arrive, I go straight to bed, wake up and leave for the track.

“Instead, I have a couple of things from home that make the place feel a little more comfortable. I have an oil diffuser, my iPad, and I have a chair.

“It sounds really weird to say, but I have a chair that helps promote sleep, and I take that around with me as well.”

Turning jet lag into a ‘fine art’

That chair is only one part of the work Albon puts into his sleep.

Singapore presents a slightly different example. There is no official time difference from Malaysia, but the later schedule means the drivers shift their sleeping and eating patterns to fit around the night-time running.

Albon works with a sleep doctor alongside his nutritionist, although with seven seasons of F1 experience behind him, he says he has developed a good understanding of what works for him.

“At this point in my career, I don’t need much help," he says. "I know what I need to do.

“I have blue-light glasses, caffeine gum and eye masks. I don’t like using sleeping supplements, so I use natural tart cherry extract. That helps promote melatonin and helps you go to sleep naturally.

“It’s become a fine art. I usually start time zone shifting two or three days before I fly out, so that by the time I arrive at the track, I’m somewhat sensible.”

Missing the routine of home

There are some things, however, that he cannot pack into a suitcase.

“I miss routine. I miss being normal, to be honest with you,” he admits when asked what he misses the most after spending long periods away. “When I’m on the road, we’ll be at a race a lot of the time. If we’ve got triple-headers, we fly on the Sunday night and arrive on the Monday.

“I do it, but it’s not always that spontaneous to walk around the city, grab a coffee or get lunch. I don’t get recognised that often, but during a race weekend you get recognised a lot more, so it’s harder to do the normal things. Those are the things I miss.

“I enjoy being at home, not doing much. Hotel rooms can feel quite cabin fever-esque as well, so you do struggle with that.

“I try to get outdoors and do training, but I miss the routine of waking up in my own bed, going to the same gym, going to my coffee shop, that sort of thing.”

While Albon’s home is in Monaco, he has made it easier to see his family and his many pets when he is back in the UK by getting a place closer to Williams’ Grove base.

“I don’t see my family all that much, unfortunately, and they’re the ones who have all the cats as well,” he explains.

“I try to make an effort... Before, I wouldn’t even go back to my family house before simulator work, so I would almost never see them. This year, having them closer by has given me the chance to see them a lot more, which has been a small game-changer.”

Finding routine through food

A passion for food is one part of travelling that Albon has increasingly begun to share with fans.

Alongside his partner, professional golfer Lily Muni He, Albon has started sharing a series called Al-bon Appétit this season, filming visits to restaurants during race weeks around the world and posting them on social media.

“Food is definitely synonymous with Asian culture, you’ll be hard-pressed to find an Asian who doesn’t like food!” he jokes.

“It brings a bit of routine too. On Wednesday nights, sometimes Thursdays, we’ll find a restaurant in the city. We’ll find a small place that’s famous for something, or somewhere we know has really good food, and we thought, ‘Why not film it since we’re doing it anyway?’

“Giovanni [Moioli], who’s behind the camera, is a super nice guy and he makes it feel natural. It pretty much is the three of us having dinner.

“It’s nice not to be ordering room service. I know there are a lot of drivers who spend their whole time in the hotel room, whereas I like to get out there as much as I can.

"I think some of the other drivers are too famous. They have no chance!”

Travelling with Williams

Albon is only one part of a much larger Williams group moving around the calendar.

Asked whether having the same team travelling with him can make it feel like a second home, his answer is slightly different to what might be expected.

“It’s possibly more different than you realise. It’s actually quite disconnected in many ways,” he explains. “I feel for the team because, if you think about the big picture, I talk about my struggles and it’s a little bit like I’m playing the violin.

“The staff, especially the race team, are doing the same amount of air miles as I am, yet they’re not able to fly the way we are or stay in as nice a hotel as we are.

“A lot of them are older than I am and a lot of them have families, children. It’s tough. It’s really tough to be on the road.

“I respect a lot of the Formula 1 personnel for doing this. Some of them do it for 20 years. It’s a really difficult lifestyle.”

The travelling team do not necessarily spend every evening together, but Albon says there are conscious efforts throughout the season to create opportunities away from the circuit.

“We don’t spend as much time together on the road as you would think,” he admits. “However, it’s a conscious effort to make sure that when we are together, we’ll have a good dinner or do something to show appreciation.

“When we go to Austin, Mexico and Brazil, we’ll make sure the drivers do an event. We had one in Madrid at Carlos [Sainz]’s family track, and that was a lot of fun.

“These moments where we’re all together on the road and doing some form of activity, it does make you feel like a big family.”