The big winner from Nissan's Formula E driver crisis
Alexander Albon's sudden pre-season departure from Nissan's inaugural Formula E campaign was a disruptive shock, but it's provided a shot at career redemption for another young driver
Losing a highly-rated driver is a major blow to any team. To have it happen on the eve of a crucial moment of a season is another. And for it to occur at the start of a major manufacturer's entry into a new motorsport sphere is almost unheard of.
Yet all of this happened to the Nissan e.dams ABB FIA Formula E squad on the first day of 2018/19 pre-season testing back in October. Alexander Albon, who had secured a three-year deal to race with the team in the electric championship, was suddenly being courted by Red Bull over a 2019 Toro Rosso Formula 1 seat.
Share Or Save This Story
Alex Kalinauckas is Autosport's Grand Prix Editor, covering every Formula 1 race since the start of 2020. After completing a master's degree in journalism at Goldsmiths College University of London in 2014, he worked for a range of motorsport and technology publications while covering national racing as an Autosport freelancer.
A lifelong motorsport fan - no one in his family can explain quite how or why such a development first occurred - Alex joined the Autosport staff in April 2017 as the magazine’s Assistant Editor covering Formula 2 and GP3, before being made Formula E correspondent and Autosport.com’s Plus Editor in March 2018. He lives in north-east London and is constantly frustrated by the Central Line.
More from Alex Kalinauckas
Is F1 blowing its "pivotal moment" to support the championship's women?
How Bearman's F1 debut will help Mercedes on its Hamilton replacement call
The rare Ferrari problem that made its Saudi GP harder against Red Bull's might
Ranked: The 10 F1 teams at the 2024 Saudi Arabian GP
F1 Saudi Arabian GP: Verstappen heads dominant Red Bull 1-2, Bearman seventh
Why Saudi Arabian GP could deliver one of F1’s most "unpleasant" races
Verstappen hopes "impressive" F1 debutant Bearman doesn't fixate on missing Q3
F1 Saudi Arabian GP: Verstappen beats Leclerc to pole
Latest news
Bezzecchi details “frustrating” time on 2023 Ducati MotoGP bike
Albon: Williams “can’t access” full potential of 2024 F1 car
What we're looking forward to in national racing in 2024
Snorkels “more relevant” for rainy-season WRC Safari
Autosport Plus
How brilliant Bird survived the heat to end Formula E win drought in Sao Paulo
How Cassidy surprised himself to storm to Formula E's summit in Saudi
How Wehrlein kicked off Formula E's new season with a statement of intent
How a "complete reset" helped Dennis deliver Andretti's Formula E title
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.