1 week Ago
Williams driver Alex Albon has addressed concerns that his new team-mate Carlos Sainz might need to unlearn the habits he picked up from his four-year stint with Ferrari . The Thai-British driver countered these claims, stating that they "are good habits to have." Speaking to the media ahead of the Bahrain Grand Prix weekend, Albon explained that the team is interested in seeing if these habits can be utilised on the FW47.
He commented: "It's interesting to speak to Carlos about these things because these habits that he's learned, they're not necessarily bad habits from Ferrari. They're they're good habits to have, and it's trying to see if we can use them in our car. "At the minute, there are some corners like I spoke about, which we can't do, and he maybe has to default to a different driving style that he's used to.
Inevitably, they're going to make the car quicker though. "So, I think as a team we're very good at taking everything on board and understanding what he's saying and [it] might be a difficult solution to fix for this year, but for next year, have priorities in certain areas to have a better car for next year." Although the Spanish driver is still adapting to the team, Williams is currently fifth in the constructors' standings with 19 points, which is more points than they accumulated in the whole of the 2024 season.
Team chief James Vowles claimed to the media during the Japanese Grand Prix weekend that he "would be shocked" if it takes Sainz more than five races to adapt. He said : "I'd be shocked if he needs five races. The way he operates, the way he thinks, the way he works, I know how he adapts his driving style.
He won't need that long. He'll be on the money you'll see pretty quickly." Carlos Sainz, Williams Photo by: Kym Illman - Getty Images Vowles also commented on the differences with Ferrari, adding: "Ferrari allows you to combine a lot more on the front axle, our cars just not so much and actually, Alex has just organically driven around it or learned to drive around it in the last few years.
"The good news is I think you saw Carlos here was near enough on the money again, he was in testing, he wasn't at the track. So we've found something, I just want to make sure it translates through to qualifying before we say anything more.".
