Today at 11:05
Alex Albon has described the "new" approach Williams has been able
to take this year following the arrival of Carlos Sainz. Albon
joined Williams in 2022 and was seen as the lead driver across the
last handful of years as he was paired up with rookies or
inexperienced team-mates. However, the Grove-based squad snapped up
Sainz following his exit from Ferrari, making the Spaniard the
first race-winner to line up for the team since Robert Kubica in
2019. With over 200 grand prix starts, Sainz's experience with
several other F1 outfits has been a vital tool for Williams this
year. "We're able to explore the car far quicker and in greater
detail, having Carlos who is good at feedback," Albon exclusively
told RacingNews365 . "We're extracting performance out of the car
that otherwise we possibly wouldn't have." While Sainz is still
adjusting to his fresh surroundings, Williams can rely on Albon's
three and a half years with the team to get the most out of the
car. "We both carry experience," Albon said. "People think of me as
a super-experienced driver, but I haven't done as many races as
people think. "I think Carlos has done twice as many races as I
have. At the same time, we have a great combination where I'm
someone who has driven the car a lot. "I know the Williams DNA, and
you have someone who has driven other cars more than that and knows
what can be achievable. "On my side, it's almost like I understand
how to get [pace] out of it and how to improvise." Alex Albon
details 'identical' Carlos Sainz set up approach Williams entered
the season following a difficult campaign last year, which saw it
finish ninth in the constructors' championship with 17 points. 14
rounds into the current term, Williams has far surpassed its 2024
points tally. Sitting fifth in the standings with 70 points to its
name, it is now targeting its first top-half finish in the
constructors' standings in eight years. While Albon has scored over
three-quarters of Williams' points this year, the Thai driver
highlighted his set-up choices are almost identical to Sainz - a
useful benefit for the team that differs to its options in the
past. "We have two cars when we go into FP1 that we can go around
and just explore setup, explore different directions that we need
to test, whether it's for next year's car, this year's car,
whatever it may be, and even driving-wise," he said. "By the time
they get to FP3, we pretty much converge. Most sessions, we end up
in qualifying almost identical in terms of set up. "That's new -
that kind of style of us going racing hasn't been in since I first
joined the team. "A lot of the time it was no fault of anyone, but
the person who was alongside me was normally a rookie or relatively
inexperienced. "I'd carry a lot of the development work. You could
argue that now we're operating 200% quicker than we were before."
