Alex Albon believes he’s driving on the similar excessive degree he has for a lot of his Williams profession, however that the skin notion of him has modified by having Carlos Sainz as his teammate.
Sainz was signed from Ferrari forward of the 2025 season, becoming a member of Albon who has been a part of the Williams setup since 2022. With the crew enhancing on observe, Albon says the addition of a confirmed race winner has additionally led to his personal inventory rising outdoors of the crew, however that Williams knew what he was able to from the earlier three years.
“Sure, I do, I do suppose [the perception] has modified,” Albon informed F1’s Past the Grid podcast. “I feel that it was simple to dismiss me for my teammates. I feel that was a simple scapegoat to say, ‘Oh, he’s doing nicely, however we don’t actually know quantify him as a driver.’
“And I feel when James [Vowles, team principal] spoke to me early on about Carlos becoming a member of, I used to be in two optimistic mindsets. The primary one was he’s going to be an enormous asset to the crew with all of his expertise and him being a fast driver. The second was I really feel like he’s a reputable reference that I can go into and I genuinely need to see how I stack up towards a driver like Carlos.
“I used to be assured in who I used to be, however I feel I possibly have shocked a few of the paddock. I don’t suppose essentially the folks that know have been shocked. This sounds a bit conceited saying this, however internally at Williams, or those that I’ve pushed for up to now, however I’m glad with how I’ve been performing this 12 months.”
Regardless of his status taking a lift externally, Albon says he isn’t desirous about utilizing that as a catalyst for a possible transfer to a different crew increased up the grid.
“I like the story of Williams. I feel we’re positively in the appropriate place and I’m not trying round,” he mentioned. “I’m satisfied within the venture, as a result of I’ve been right here, and I feel James and the board are doing a improbable job. I do imply that, and simply trying on the earlier outcomes there’s no cause why I want to go searching. I’m very pleased with the place I’m.”
Albon insists he has been going about his enterprise in the identical method as earlier seasons, however that the key step ahead Williams made with its automotive this 12 months has led to eye-catching outcomes that result in his performances being seen extra usually.
“I don’t suppose I’ve modified something, I simply suppose I’ve been given a platform to showcase what I can do, greater than something,” he mentioned. “So I feel the noise outdoors of driving may be very targeted on driver outcomes, and it seems prefer it’s been an awesome 12 months – and it has been an awesome 12 months for myself, however the automotive has allowed me to get to that time.
“So once I take into consideration the outcomes we’ve been capable of obtain on completely different tracks and scoring completely different factors, and good factors – P5s – I simply suppose it’s such a team-based sport. There’s virtually like a, ‘Wow, Alex is having an awesome season’ and I’d agree, however I’d say that it’s such a automotive and crew factor. I really feel like I had nice races final 12 months that by no means obtained talked about, as a result of I used to be P18.
“I’m hungry this 12 months. I really feel like I’ve been capable of showcase what I can do. I really feel like I’ve all the time had an elbows-out, hungry mentality, and we’re within the midfield – we’re all the time combating. I really feel like I can go to each race figuring out that there’s an opportunity to attain factors, there’s outcomes end out there to me.
“So when it comes to that sense, motivation is all the time sturdy. As a driver, it sounds actually boring to say and possibly it goes towards the overall pattern of the place the story goes, however I really feel like I’m driving simply in addition to I’ve completed and it’s been as a tremendous 12 months. However my course of may be very constant. I am going to each race, I work on myself and I have a look at these little particulars, and that hasn’t actually modified.”
