Alexander Albon, who will compete in his 100th Grand Prix in F1 this weekend in Austin, will no doubt have a light heart: while his career in F1 almost came to an abrupt end, after being dismissed by Red Bull, he is now an established driver in the sport. And even possibly courted by top teams…
It is therefore with much less pressure that Alexander Albon can now race in F1, as he himself admitted to the FOM.
“I think so, I have less pressure. It’s a real luxury in Formula 1 to be able to say that you have a contract that doesn’t end at the end of the year. »
“It’s a different type of pressure, and one that, to be honest, every driver has felt before. I think every driver, since they are eight or nine years old – at least a lot of drivers – fight every year to continue. So in that sense it’s not unusual. »
But Alexander Albon doesn’t just want to stay in F1: he wants to win races.
This is Williams F1’s long-term objective, but for now, the Thai hopes to catch up with Haas F1 to aim, why not, for 7th place in the constructors’ standings.
“The goal is definitely to move forward,” says Albon. “I think if you start looking back, you become complacent and you take less risks, and I think the goal should always be to overtake the cars in front of us. »
“So far in the last few races we have had a faster car than the Haas most weekends. If it hasn’t been faster, we can usually explain it, like if we did something wrong this weekend, or whatever. »
Would Williams even have a better F1 than Aston Martin for example?
“The Aston Martin is a bit fickle. I think sometimes they can be very fast and, when they’re not, we can barely beat them. But we have to, because we have to beat Aston to beat Haas and RB, because obviously the points usually go to the fifth fastest team, so 9th, 10th is kind of our target. »
“So we have to be faster than all the teams in the middle of the pack and, at the moment, if you do the math, if you score one point every weekend or two points, you won’t catch Haas or RB , so you’re actually looking for more dynamic, more chaotic races. »
Alexander Albon also thinks that a few circuits could favor Williams F1: Brazil, where the weather conditions can bring surprises, or even Qatar (with tire management).
“So you can have good results in terms of points and that’s what we’re focusing on – if we can just be the fifth fastest team then we can expect a wild ride, and that 9th place can makes it turn into a 6th place or something, and there we are straight into battle. »
‘El Plan’ by Alexander Albon
Looking to the longer term, Albon hopes that in another 100 Grands Prix he will fight for podiums and victories.
“The next 100 races, wow…That would be another four years in the sport. Let’s see. Chances are it’s still at Williams. I can’t wait to see what the future holds. I hope that at my 200th Grand Prix we will be talking about podiums and battles at the front. »
