Alex Albon has pinpointed the standout issue with his Williams machinery as the driver heads into the Bahrain Grand Prix. Talking with Motorsport.com and other media on Thursday, Albon confirmed that the team is forced to compromise its setup at each track.
Despite a promising start to the season where the Grove team has emerged as a strong midfield threat, the Thai-British driver believes there’s more to be extracted from the FW47 with them currently being limited by the car’s operating window.
“Yes, to be quick with this car, it needs a certain setup, and it’s not always the most comfortable setup,” Albon explained. “It was clear there’s a couple of corners on each track that we go to that we are relatively weak, compared to the midfield. I think we’re producing good downforce.”
He elaborated on the fundamental issue affecting the team’s performance:
“We’re just struggling with balance in a few corners, but to fix them corners means we normally have to compromise the rest of the lap, so it makes it quite a window that we are in most weekends.
“That’s not new, and we’ve had that for many years. That’s the trade that we make weekend to weekend, track to track. When there are less trades, like Melbourne, we’re quick. When there are a bit more trades, like China, maybe we struggle a little bit more.”
Alex Albon, Williams
Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images
Alongside former Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz joining the team for the 2025 Formula 1 season, the team has been able to improve substantially over their 2024 performance. Much of this, according to team principal James Vowles, comes from “low-hanging fruit” developments for both the car and infrastructure.
Albon used the recent Japanese Grand Prix as an example to illustrate the witnessed jump in performance:
“I think a good example would be Japan. We were really weak in two corners around the lap, but on the rest of the lap, we’re actually not far away from the top teams. But we can’t get one without the other, so… That’s been a main issue.”
Bringing Sainz into the fold has been good for the team, allowing them to utilise much of his experience from his four-year sting with the Scuderia.
“So far though, it’s a huge step from last year. The windows that we’re talking about are much less, but they’re still there. And I think that’s partly where Carlos and I are on the same language,” Albon confirmed.
