detailed a number of key enhancements that made to its 2025 automotive that allowed the British squad to make its finest begin to a Components 1 season in practically a decade.
After 5 races Albon and his new team-mate have scored 25 factors between them, which is eight greater than the Grove-based workforce collected over your entire 2024 marketing campaign and marks its finest season begin since 2016.
Commercial
A few of Williams’ short-term enhancements have been deliberate, enhancing key processes to keep away from a repeat of 2024’s automotive being delivered late and chubby, whereas others have been a by-product of wholesale modifications commissioned by workforce boss James Vowles to satisfy long-term targets.
However what’s essential for Williams in a good midfield battle is enhancing the FW47’s consistency, after coming from a lineage of vehicles that had been very peaky and delicate to wind. This allowed the 2025 automotive to compete on various kinds of circuits, whereas additionally making it simpler to drive.
“I feel that the largest factor for me is extra simply that the automotive is less complicated to be on the restrict,” Albon defined as his workforce heads into the Miami Grand Prix weekend in fifth place.
“It is much less snappy, extra predictable, much less delicate to wind modifications and basically that makes you capable of ship higher laps extra constantly.
Commercial
“I nonetheless make the odd mistake right here and there, it occurs. However I really feel like I can do a greater job extra constantly as a result of the automotive is only a bit extra driveable.”
Alex Albon, Williams
Alex Albon, WilliamsPeter Fox / Getty Photographs
Peter Fox / Getty Photographs
Albon mentioned he’s barely stunned by the extent of Williams’ step in competitiveness, as a result of the automotive is outperforming what the squad’s growth instruments had predicted. “I used to be all the time actually assured that we had been going to make progress as a workforce,” he added.
“I noticed the areas and the philosophy of the automotive altering, and the concepts we had been specializing in for this yr. We drove it on the simulator, and it was positively higher, however I feel we discovered extra tempo within the automotive than what the simulator informed us it will be. That is fairly a uncommon and really optimistic factor to have.”
Commercial
However Albon reiterated that with the workforce all however turning off the faucet for its 2025 growth, it should capitalise on its kind now earlier than midfield rivals deliver upgrades.
“Yeah, I really feel like there is a actually massive emphasis on us to attain factors proper now,” the Thai driver mentioned. “You do not know when the subsequent improve goes to return on a rival workforce. We’d not all the time be the fifth quickest automotive however we’re constantly there to attain factors.
“If this was a special yr, I might simply let you know we’re not going to take our foot off the pedal and we’ll preserve specializing in upgrading the automotive, and that is not really the case this yr.”
Learn Additionally:
To learn extra Motorsport.com articles .
