Williams team boss James Vowles has heaped praise on Alex Albon for delivering an “outstanding” season so far, pointing to “a step up in his confidence and belief” behind the scenes.
Albon holds P8 in this year’s Drivers’ Championship with an impressive haul of 70 points, having scored at 11 of the 18 rounds held so far – including personal best P5 finishes in Australia, Miami, Imola and the Netherlands.
That tally has spearheaded Williams’ rise to fifth in the Teams’ standings, comparing to the 32 achieved by new team mate Carlos Sainz, the highly rated Spaniard who won four Grands Prix during his time at Ferrari.
Speaking in a recent appearance on the Beyond The Grid podcast, Vowles took a moment to reflect on Albon’s progress and the significant contribution he is making at Williams both on and off the track.
“I can tell you from the outset he was very quick, but he needed the right forum where the world isn’t questioning his team mates or what’s going on,” said Vowles of Albon’s Williams journey. “There’s no questioning now. Carlos is absolutely the reference you need.
“Alex, this year, every time there has been a result [available], he’s gone and picked it up. Simple as that. His pace has been outstanding. I think if there’s any doubts, it should be gone by now in people’s minds.”
He continued: “I would say the biggest difference I’ve noticed with Alex is a step up in his confidence and belief. That’s the main thing – in the team and in himself at the same time.
“Every human being goes through cycles where they’re more or less confident in themselves and the car and what goes around. You cannot waver Alex one bit this year. Not for a second can you even just push him. He is absolutely confident in what he is doing and what the car is doing around that.
“That doesn’t mean we’re perfect on the car, not by any stretch of the imagination, but his driving force is one of, ‘Fix this, fix this, and I will go faster’, and it’s directing the team in the right way.”
Vowles also noted Albon’s willingness to help Sainz during his Williams adaptation as the Grove-based squad continue their push to climb up the F1 order and ultimately challenge for race wins and world titles again.
“We have some peculiarities in this car on just how to approach certain corners, but he’s really, really good at vocalising that, and helping Carlos as well – he’s not keeping it for himself,” added Vowles.
“It’s immediately straight out there, ‘Look at this, this is what I’m doing here’, and then helping the engineers drive the direction of travel. In that way, he’s more vocal than I’ve heard him before and his direction is absolutely spot on.”