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Alex Albon is cautiously optimistic about projecting any expectations from Williams or making promises ahead of the new season.
Speaking to Sky Sports, the Thai-born driver felt their team’s rivals will also make progress with their cars and therefore, it would be unrealistic to outline any targets at the moment before the cars hit the ground running.
Williams unveiled the livery of its 2024 F1 car, the FW46, in New York. The Grove-based team have also confirmed that Albon will remain a driver beyond the 2024 season. While the British team are likely to bring their car directly to the preseason test in Bahrain, their rivals Sauber launched the car and livery the very same day.
Cautiously optimistic about his team’s prospects in 2024, Alex Albon spoke to Sky Sports, saying:
“It looks great, I love it. There's always opportunities to improve. And then also trying to understand what this new car's going to be like. I think it's going to be such a big difference in driving styles, and hopefully performance.
"I feel like every team is going to make a big step, everyone talks about numbers and how many points they've added on and how much quicker they are from last year. It's all comparative, so let's see how we fare against everyone else. But we've definitely done a good job. I don't want to talk a big game too early, but let's see.”
Contributing to a majority of Williams points tally, Albon had an impressive performance in 2023, which helped them seal seventh place in the Constructor’s Championship. In fact, he secured 27 of the team's 28 points last year by himself.
Nonetheless, looking forward to another season with the team, the driver was positive about his progress and off-season preparations. While he believes the FW46 will be very different from its predecessor, he is optimistic about its development over the course of 24 races.
As far as his own expectations were concerned for the upcoming season, Alex Albon said:
“For me just to have had a year under my belt now, all the things I've learned, made steps forward throughout the season, now have a reference for everywhere I'm going to go, is such a huge advantage going into my second year. This car is going to be very different to last year and it's important to get on top of that as quickly as we can.
"But I think having that break in the off-season to really sort of get myself in the right place physically, mentally, emotionally - start to reflect on the places I could have been a lot better last year, to ultimately make that step that I know I can make, and hopefully leave us in a good position for 2024.”
Alex Albon wants to cut some slack to Williams team principal James Vowles
Alex Albon believes that it would not be correct to mount pressure on James Vowles after a debut season as the Williams F1 team principal.
The former Red Bull driver believes the changes made by the British engineer will take time to reflect. He admitted that the former Mercedes strategist has made the Grove-based team deflect from its old ways of designing cars and their modus operandi. Despite a seventh-place finish in 2023, the 27-year-old felt that the team will take time to progress to the utmost competitive form.
Speaking to Sky Sports F1 at the livery launch of their 2024 car, Alex Albon said:
"I don't want to put pressure on James, but it is his first year where he's really taken control and you can really see that. Over the last four or five years there's been an inherent way that the team and the cars have been designed, and I think this year there's been quite a big divergence to that.
"I think that's why you're hearing us talk about the car being so different. We're taking more risks and we're trying to get away from our old ways and habits. It's definitely the right thing we're doing and it's just seeing if it's going to work out ok.”
Alex Albon added:
“Tough as it sounds and as proud as I am of what we've achieved, but seventh doesn't mean a tremendous amount to me. We've done a good job, not a great job. Here's what excellence looks like, and here's the gap that we've got to fulfil between those two.
"You're not going to do it one year, that's simply just not possible, but we will get there and we will get there because the perseverance, the belief, the passion is at the highest level I've ever seen and that carries you through a tremendous amount.”
Williams beat AlphaTauri by merely three points in the constructors championship in 2023. However, the Red Bull junior team had more than three drivers change throughout the season. In terms of their rivals, AlphaTauri (who have been renamed Visa Cashapp RB) and Sauber have stepped up their game organizationally.
The grid in 2024 is expected to bunch up with cars converging, which will make the midfield battle more interesting. In his third season with the Williams team, Alex Albon will be a driver to watch out for if their team were to produce a competitive car.
