Alexander Albon, Williams Racing driver, expressed his frustration with the lack of recognition for the significant progress made by the team’s Formula 1 car in 2024. Despite Williams’ good performance in the previous season, finishing seventh in the Constructors’ Championship with 28 points, Albon believes that their improvements were overshadowed by advances from other teams. He acknowledged that the gap between the leading teams and the rest of the grid has increased, with four teams not scoring points in the first two races. When asked about Williams’ position in the hierarchy, Albon admitted that they are currently among the bottom five teams. He also mentioned that the performance gap between teams is approximately two to two and a half seconds, depending on the track. Albon believes that Williams showed potential in the race, but was hindered by engine issues, overheating, and compromised strategy. Despite the frustrations, Albon acknowledged that all teams at the bottom of the grid have made significant progress, making the competition more challenging.
When asked about the possibility of the top five teams widening their advantage from last season, Albon expressed surprise. He acknowledged a significant time difference between 11th and 10th positions in Bahrain, approximately 20 seconds, but attributed it to Lance Stroll’s accident on the first lap. Albon believed that the midfield teams had closed the gap in the race, while the standings remained similar to the previous year.
Given the time constraints faced by Williams in assembling their FW46, Albon remained hopeful that upcoming developments can help the team reduce the gap. He mentioned that there are updates and improvements for the car that have not yet been implemented due to delays. Albon emphasized the importance of catching up to the leaders and acknowledged that this would be a determining factor in their performance. If they were able to narrow the gap, Albon believed they would be in a good position. However, if they were still behind, it would be a challenging year where they would have to make the most of every race and rely on other drivers’ retirements to score points.
