Alex Albon asks Williams not to “slack off” in 2025
Alex Albon has warned Williams not to "slack off" for the 2025 season, so that the team doesn't have to repeat the trying efforts of 2024 to improve the car's design and construction processes.
Williams had started the 2024 campaign with a car that was overweight, estimating that it was losing up to 0.45 seconds per lap until it could replace certain parts with lighter components through its in-season upgrade program.
This overweight was due to the delay in the construction of the FW46, a consequence of the team’s efforts to modernize its assembly process. Previously, it used an Excel file containing about 20,000 entries to list the necessary parts, a system much less sophisticated than the software used by other teams. The list of parts had grown as Williams attempted to make its car lighter compared to 2023.
Alex Albon remains cautious
From now on, the team members are confident that they will not have to repeat such a process for the 2025 car, which will have to start the year with a weight limit of 798 kg. In theory, this should naturally represent an advantage for the team, which finished ninth in the Constructors’ Championship in 2024, a decline from its seventh place the previous year.
However, Alex Albon remains cautious and insists that performance won’t automatically improve. “I don’t think it’s a year where we can afford to be relaxed and think that everything will come to us now,” he stated.
« There remains an element of ‘continue to push’, to ensure that we learn and remain adaptable. We will face obstacles next year, like all teams, and I hope that by then, we will be better positioned to handle them. »
A new teammate for 2025
In 2025, Alex Albon will be joined by former Ferrari driver, Carlos Sainz, an arrival he considers as a positive step forward for Williams in their longstanding efforts to return to victory in F1.
« I think he will also be a good team leader. He expresses himself well and is very articulate. He also has a solid background in engineering, which is an asset. How we take his information and apply it to our car will be crucial. »
Alex Albon also added: « I think we will have a strong lineup of drivers. We have faced many obstacles this year, but I sincerely believe that we have learned important lessons from them. I’m excited. I feel more optimistic for next year than I was this year. »
« We have made many changes. We haven’t learned everything, but we have grasped the essentials, and we will be able to use that for 2025. »
