The former Red Bull Racing driver’s sophomore year with Willams went rather well, as he scored almost all of the British team’s 28 points, and had a best finish of seventh in Canada and at Monza, as well as consistent starts from the top ten.
His personal point total of 27 points led to P7 in the constructors’s standings, for Williams’s best finish since 2017.
The British Thai driver was extremely satisfied with his second year back in Formula 1 after his DTM stint, and he looked back at his whole 2023 after the final round in Abu Dhabi:
“I’m very proud of my performance. I’m not the most arrogant person I would say, but I will give myself credit, I feel like I’ve had a very strong season.I felt like most of my races haven’t been simple, there have been races where we’ve been fighting, fighting, fighting the whole time.”
It was a result hard fought for, and Albon discussed the reasons behind his ability to extract the most out of his FW45, citing his good feeling with the team as a key element to have his “best” year ever in the top single seater championship:
“But I enjoy it. I feel that’s the environment that I thrive in. For me, it’s been my strongest year in F1. That connection that I have with the team has really helped that.
“I feel like that’s where we’ve been able to execute everything we’ve done so well. It’s strange, because a lot of people think we’re very inconsistent, but I personally think the execution of each weekend has been very consistent.”
Photo Credit: Williams Racing
Williams’ strengths and weaknesses have been quite similar for a few years now. Critically, however, Albon and his team maximised results at circuits such as Monza and Montreal to compensate for their struggles around tracks such as Monaco Hungary.
“The car itself is quite inconsistent. So we know, Monza, Vegas tracks go well, for us. We know cold tracks do well for us. We know what tracks don’t work for us, windy tracks don’t work for us, tight tracks don’t work for us.”
In the end, Albon’s hard working attitude and the ability to take advantage of the chances offered by the very lengthy calendar paid off. The two-time podium finisher set the bar a bit higher for next season, looking forward to what can be done to improve the drivability and the stability of the car.
“Our car does have its moments and one of our biggest focuses next year is to stop these weaknesses in our car. But the execution has been very strong, I think, and we made the most of opportunities.
“So that’s why I believe we’ve been able to actually get P7, I think. When we’ve had the car to do it, we’ve made sure we’ve scored the points. I think others have either had a blunder with strategy or whatever it may have been, just to miss out on points,” he concluded stressing Williams’s maximising approach to the past year, which definitely showed promising results.
The 2024 challenger will be the first to have been released under the leadership of new Team Principal James Vowles, as well as recently signed Chief Technical Officier Pat Fry, who has previously worked with Alpine, Ferrari and McLaren.
Albon is cautiously excited for the new signing, as he believes the experienced engineer has been introducing a new approach that can be significantly helpful in the preparation of the upcoming challenges:
“Time will tell. Obviously, he’s just joined the team, he’s getting up to speed very quickly. I feel like he’s understanding the areas we need to improve in as well, which he will offer that guidance and mentorship to the team. So I’m very excited to have him on board.”
Another considerable factor to count in is the fact that the British team didn’t focus on the 2023 car as much as some of its main rivals on the grid, but rather on the 2024 project:
“And I think we’ve sacrificed a lot this year to get to focus on next year’s car, we haven’t upgraded for much longer than our rivals, that can only really be a good thing.
“We did the bare minimum to finish P7, and now we’re eyes on to next year. Obviously we have Pat on board, and it will be James’s first proper year where he’s had true leadership in the development of the car. So let’s see,” he concluded on a high note, feeling extremely positive for the new challenge.
