Alex Albon might just be the dark horse of the driver market in the coming years according to F1 pundit

F1 pundit Nate Saunders believes Alex Albon is one of the stronger drivers on the grid and would come out on top against any of the drivers who are currently free agents.

During the ESPN F1 Unlapped podcast, Saunders discussed the 27-year-old Thai driver's potential. Although he hasn't scored many points in the past seasons with Williams, most of the blame must be shouldered by the car that he is driving.

Saunders claimed that any new drivers or ones that are currently available on the market would not look good against Albon. He said:

"I don't think any driver really who's available would look good currently against Albon. Albon's performing so well."

Talking about how Alex Albon is perceived, Saunders said that it's because of the high benchmark that the Williams driver is being judged against. He added:

"It's easy to think 'oh, this driver's just rubbish,' but you know it might just be the benchmark they're up against. It is a bit higher and then it comes back to exactly what Lawrence (Edmondson) was saying so many reasons to just not get rid of someone."

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Lewis Hamilton blamed for shattering Alex Albon's confidence

Pierre Gasly and Alex Albon swapped their Red Bull and Toro Rosso seats in the 2019 season, giving the Thai driver an opportunity to impress with superior machinery.

During two of the races that season, the Brazilian GP and the Austrian GP, Alex Albon was pretty close to grabbing his maiden podium finish. However, Lewis Hamilton made contact with him on both occasions, washing away his hopes of a podium finish.

Dr. Helmut Marko, Red Bull's advisor, said that these instances were enough to shatter Albon's confidence. He said:

"He was turned around by Hamilton and that hit his confidence massively. A P2 and a win was on the table."

Albon would later score his maiden podium at the 2020 Tuscan Grand Prix, becoming the first Thai driver to do so.