Albon’s Bahrain GP was compromised by overheating points on his option to an unrepresentative fifteenth, whereas in Saudi Arabia he simply missed out on the factors by ending eleventh.
Regardless of being overwhelmed in Jeddah solely by the 9 surviving vehicles from the highest 5 groups – plus the Haas of Nico Hulkenberg, the Thai/British driver nonetheless feels that Williams has not but proven what it could do.
“Very merely, we have a greater automotive than final 12 months,” he mentioned. “However so does everybody else. And I would say Haas generally has been a bit extra of a shock package deal, they’re extra aggressive.
“We all know the place our weaknesses are. We all know there’s lap time to seek out. We all know the place the lap time is. Hopefully inside the subsequent six or seven races we are able to begin discovering that efficiency, and out-develop our rivals.
“We all know there is a good chunk of time within the automotive. We will not entry it proper now. It’s kind of of a disgrace, as a result of I feel at the very least right this moment [in Saudi Arabia] particularly there was an opportunity to attain factors. We will do it.
“So let’s have a look at for the subsequent few races, hopefully we’ll simply chip away at it and get faster and faster.
“[It’s] not likely how we need to begin the season. I feel we wished a bit greater than this, nevertheless it’s solely the start, and we are able to combat again.”
Sparks fly from Alex Albon, Williams FW46
Photograph by: Steven Tee / Motorsport Photographs
In 2023, Williams benefited from good straight-line velocity that made the automotive aggressive on sure circuits, permitting Albon to bag some robust factors finishes whereas holding off probably sooner vehicles.
This 12 months the staff has tried to create a extra constant package deal, and Albon confirms that the velocity benefit has gone.
“We do not have the straight-line velocity like final 12 months,” he mentioned. “So it is truly actually onerous for us to overhaul.
“I used to be fairly shocked [in the Jeddah race], I needed to do all my overtaking within the corners, which isn’t regular for me! It was attention-grabbing. When the DRS practice was there, it was not possible.
“And as soon as it broke up, and I might assault a non-DRS automotive, it was superb, I might get by means of the sector. It’s irritating, as a result of we had higher race tempo – our tempo was not dangerous.”
