Alex Albon: F1 driver previews Miami GP amid struggles - and his 14 cats

Hanging out on a beach seems to have been the go-to choice for Formula 1 drivers during this unplanned break at the start of the new season. Whether it's splashing around in the sea with Kim Kardashian like Sir Lewis Hamilton or a shirtless Charles Leclerc strolling across the sand with his wife, there's definitely been more time to chill. But Williams driver Alex Albon says he's been kept busy in a slightly different way.

"I think I have a big fan club behind the scenes. They might not be all human, but they're there," he tells BBC Newsbeat.

He's talking about his self-titled Albon Zoo of 14 cats, dogs and horses that will be well-known to fans of Netflix's popular F1 doc Drive to Survive. "It's so hectic but cat life is calming. It's a calming chaos, you could say."

Newsbeat caught up with Albon before the sport's return to racing in Miami this weekend after a five-week break. The British-Thai driver says the enforced time off, after two races were cancelled because of the Iran war, came at the right time.

"We started this year on the back foot," he says. "We have to have a bit of time to catch up. The big thing now is just that rebound factor."

Albon hasn't scored any points in the first three races of the season and didn't even make the starting grid at the Chinese Grand Prix. "It's not that we don't know where to find lap time," he says. "We know where our issues are so we're not scratching our heads."

But Williams will get a chance to turn things around in Miami. Albon says it's the perfect circuit to try out the cars after changes were made to the new engine rules during the break. The tweaks come after strong criticism from some drivers that their skills were being diminished because of the rules introduced at the start of the season.

"It delivers good racing and I'll be interested to know with these regulations how that plays out," Albon says. "I think you're going to get a lot of overtakes."

The 30-year-old thinks the changes should "fix the majority of the issues", adding the first three races felt "tricky". "It's maybe not what drivers or fans wanted," he says. "It might not be a total fix but I think all of the drivers think it's a step in the right direction."

Albon also says he's enjoying his second season with teammate Carlos Sainz, who joined Williams from Ferrari for the 2025 campaign. Sainz is a director of the Grand Prix Drivers' Association - a group representing the interest of racers - and is a popular figure. But Albon says he's also been taking the lead in other ways off the grid.

"When the drivers get together to play padel, everyone wants Carlos on their team," he says. "He's a step ahead of everyone."

Albon's partner is the Chinese professional golfer 'Lily' Muni He - so surely he has the advantage over 18 holes? Not quite. "Carlos is also really good at golf. It's really annoying," he says.

For now though, it's back to the racing and wondering if celebrating on the podium with his 14 cats is how Albon visualises his first top three finish for Williams.