‘I pretty much live in a suitcase’: Williams Driver Alex Albon on the Realities of Life on the Road in F1

The Rigors of an Expanding Formula 1 Calendar

Formula 1 driver Alex Albon is facing one of the most grueling stretches of his career as the championship navigates an intense global schedule. Between the Azerbaijan Grand Prix and the season finale, the Williams racer expects to spend a mere five days inside his Monaco apartment. Instead, the British-Thai driver will spend the overwhelming majority of the remaining season living out of luggage while navigating consecutive race weekends across multiple continents.

The strain has been brought to the forefront during a rapid triple-header sequence moving from Baku to Malaysia and onward to Singapore. Over this stretch, the paddock adjusted to a four-hour advance toward Southeast Asia, accompanied by drastic climate shifts and contrasting operational hours. Although Sepang and Marina Bay share an identical geographical time zone, switching from Malaysia’s daytime running to Singapore’s night-race format forces drivers to radically recalibrate their biological clocks.

Speaking to F1.com in Baku, Albon revealed that despite seven years of experience in the sport, relentless travel demands never truly become comfortable routine. “No, it does feel like a lot,” he explained. “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.”

He noted the compounding strain between the consecutive Southeast Asian stops: “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.”

Life on the Road: Optimizing Logistics and Sleep Routines

To withstand the physical and mental wear, Albon relies heavily on meticulous preparation orchestrated far in advance. His management team collaborates continuously with Williams to juggle team operations, partner commitments, and bespoke travel. Following the Singapore Grand Prix, Albon is also slated to head directly to Thailand.

“I spend every year trying to optimise my travel and my energy levels,” Albon said. “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.”

The persistent travel leaves little time for conventional home life during the campaign’s closing stretch. “From now until the last race of the year, I’ll spend five days in Monaco at home,” Albon revealed. “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 if he ever fully unpacks, Albon admitted: “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.”

Mastering Jet Lag as a ‘Fine Art’

To manage the eight-hour schedule inversion demanded by the Singapore night race, Albon has turned sleep management into a specialized discipline. While he consults both a nutritionist and a sleep doctor, his prolonged career has helped him pinpoint what keeps his performance peak.

“At this point in my career, I don’t need much help,” he noted. “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.”

Coping With Isolation and Grounding Through Food

Despite packing personal comforts, Albon acknowledged the emotional cost of missing familiar environments. “I miss routine. I miss being normal, to be honest with you,” he said. “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.”

He added: “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.”

To reduce travel fatigue when back in the United Kingdom for engineering work at Williams’ Grove headquarters, Albon secured a base nearby, allowing him to reconnect with his family and pets. “I don’t see my family all that much, unfortunately, and they’re the ones who have all the cats as well,” he stated. “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.”

To retain balance, Albon and his partner, professional golfer Lily Muni He, launched a social video series titled Al-bon Appétit to explore local dining during race weeks alongside videographer Giovanni Moioli. “Food is definitely synonymous with Asian culture, you’ll be hard-pressed to find an Asian who doesn’t like food!” Albon joked. “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!”

Why This Matters

Modern Formula 1 seasons place extreme logistical burdens not just on drivers, but on hundreds of traveling mechanics, engineers, and support staff. While drivers often have access to top-tier logistical assistance, Albon was quick to contextualize his own situation against the wider traveling crew at Williams.

“It’s possibly more different than you realise. It’s actually quite disconnected in many ways,” Albon explained. “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.”

To maintain morale, Williams implements planned team outings across long-haul stretches such as Austin, Mexico, and Brazil, including a previous gathering hosted at Carlos Sainz’s family track in Madrid. “We don’t spend as much time together on the road as you would think,” Albon noted. “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… 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.”

Frequently Asked Questions

Why will Alex Albon spend only five days at home for the rest of the season?

Intense stretches of consecutive flyaway races, promotional partner commitments in Thailand, and recurring mid-week engineering and simulator sessions at the Williams headquarters in Grove keep Albon traveling almost continuously between the Azerbaijan Grand Prix and the season’s conclusion.

How does Albon cope with rapid time zone and schedule changes?

Albon uses blue-light glasses, caffeine gum, eye masks, and natural tart cherry extract rather than synthetic sleep aids to shift his sleep cycle two to three days before traveling. He also brings familiar items from home on tour, including an iPad, an oil diffuser, and a specialized sleep chair.

What is the ‘Al-bon Appétit’ series?

Al-bon Appétit is a social media video series created by Albon and his partner, golfer Lily Muni He, along with videographer Giovanni Moioli, showcasing their visits to unique local restaurants across host cities on race week evenings.