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“Let’s see how he gets on with the car and how good he really is”: Williams boss expects new driver Alex Albon to reach new heights in his upcoming Formula 1 stint

Somin Bhattacharjee
Published

"Alex is the right driver” - Senior advisor Jenson Button confident of a healthy relationship between Williams and Alex Albon

Williams team principal Jost Capito believes Alex Albon is yet to show his best in F1 and expects him to reach new heights this year. 

Albon’s F1 career so far has been extremely turbulent. He had a very strong start with Toro Rosso, before being put in the Red Bull seat midway into 2019. At the Milton-Keynes based team, he went off to a similarly positive start.

However, the following year, Albon put in a string of underwhelming performances that saw Red Bull replace him with Sergio Perez at the team. He spent 2021 as the reserve and development driver for Red Bull as a result.

In spite of not being in the limelight as much, everyone involved within the team acknowledged the amount of hard work Albon put. In particular, 2021 World Champion Max Verstappen believes that without Albon’s work behind the scenes, he wouldn’t have won the crown.

For 2022, Albon found himself an F1 seat in Williams. He replaces the outgoing George Russell who moves on to partner Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes. Albon will team up with Nicholas Latifi for the upcoming season.

Also read: Fernando Alonso shares his thoughts on Haas driver Mick Schumacher

Alex Albon grew as a person and as a driver during his developmental work at Red Bull, says Capito

Williams CEO and team principal Jost Capito believes that Albon hasn’t peaked in F1 yet. He fully expects the 25-year old to put in strong performances this year.

He credits Red Bull for helping the Thai-British driver grow during his year away from F1 racing action. Alex Albon was involved in a lot of simulator work, and helped his team form strategies pre-race. This allowed the outfit to prepare for best case scenarios for eventual World Champion Verstappen throughout 2021.

“Alex has developed very well in the 2021 season,” said Capito. “He wasn’t just a reserve driver, he also spent a lot of time in the simulator. He followed Formula 1 racing from a different perspective.”

“I think Alex hasn’t reached his peak yet, he can show a lot more. But now let’s see how he gets on with the car and how good the car is.”

“When I see how he works in the simulator and with the engineers, he makes a happy impression on me. I also have a good connection built up to him. We speak very openly with each other and he feels at home here.”

About the author

Somin Bhattacharjee

Somin Bhattacharjee

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Formula 1 Editor Somin Bhattacharjee fell for the sport as well as Fernando Alonso on the same day — during the Spaniard’s thrilling victory at the German GP in 2010. Over the years, the passion magnified manyfold, and metamorphosed into a writing career in 2021. Though holding a bachelor's degree in marketing, Somin discovered his true calling in writing. He has penned over 2,700 articles for TheSportsRush, presenting a diverse range — news reports, opinions, and exclusives. A true Tiffosi, Somin never gives up on a chance to defend the Ferrari boys as a fan. As a sports writer though, he remains objective to the core and relishes opportunities to follow and engage in dissecting the action during races. That’s where the real thrill lies for him. Beyond the racetrack, Somin plays different sports including soccer. He enjoys exploring other sporting events and proudly supports Spanish soccer club Real Madrid.

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