Alexander Albon is pleased with how his F1 2023 has been thus far fighting for points, as Logan Sargeant and George Russell praise his form.
Having had an off year as Red Bull reserve, Albon bounced back well with Williams last year and continued his fine form this year collecting 15 points so far in 33 races with them. The results have been possible also because of the team’s steady progress.
They have been around the points position often this year than last year which has helped especially due its strong straightline speed. Albon has managed to extract the maximum during race weekends and he acknowledges that his form goes hand-in-hand with the car.
“I feel like it goes hand-in-hand,” said Albon. “Of course, when the car gets quicker as well and you’re fighting for points, people talk about it a little bit more. I think we’re doing a great job, I feel, as a team. Driving-wise as well. I’m feeling comfortable and confident in the car, which is always important.
“And it’s just great going to every race weekend being able to fight for points, and being in that area where you feel like you go to every weekend knowing that, it just builds confidence and motivation for everyone in the in the team. So yeah, I would say we’re enjoying these moments, and hopefully we can we can score some more points.
“I have to say it’s been a really good year for us so far. Don’t want say too much. But it feels like the way that we started in Bahrain and where we are right now, we’ve made great progress. Maybe not as much as the McLarens, but on our side, we are heading in the right direction.
“And as I said… I don’t know where we are, I think we are seventh right now, in the Constructors’, tied. If you had told me that at the start of the year, I think if you had told anyone from the team that at the start of the year, we would have bitten your arm off. So it is going well. Obviously, we just need to stay focused and keep going at it,” summed up Albon.
There is not just rightful self-praise but the team has been on-song about Albon as well where they have found an unofficial leader to help them with their development. His rookie teammate Sargeant has had a good year of learning from his senior pro.
“I mean, from my side he’s been driving amazing and for me being a rookie, it’s been really good to be able to learn from that,” said Sargeant. “And yeah, he’s really set the benchmark. He gets everything out of the car every weekend and that’s what I’m trying to get to. So, perfect person for me to try and reach and yeah, it’s also good for the team and it’s good to see.
“He’s just fast everywhere, that’s for sure. I feel like just you can really see the experience, you can see that he’s gone through ups and downs in Formula 1 and he really knows how to get the most out of the car, get the most out of the team and how to put himself in the best position coming Sunday,” summed up Sargeant.
For Williams, it seems like a situation where Russell never left as the void has been well filled by Albon and the Brit is happy that his friend filled the gap pretty nicely. “Really happy to see… Alex is a very talented driver and just happy to see in the right environment what he’s capable of doing,” he said.
“And equally for Williams, they’re a team who work really hard. They had a few years of difficulties and now also with James there, I think they’re definitely on the right tracks to try and push themselves to the front of the midfield. So I couldn’t be happier for James, Alex and Williams as a whole.”
Here’s Williams finding itself in another trouble
Here’s Dave Robon crediting James Vowles’ work