27-year-old Formula 1 driver told he was really ‘overperforming’ last season

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Pundit and former race engineer Bernie Collins has admitted that she’s been really impressed with Williams driver Alex Albon this season.

Collins was speaking on The F1 Pod and reflecting on another exciting year of action in Formula 1.

Although the main headline this season has been Max Verstappen, there have been plenty of top performances further down the grid.

Martin Brundle suggested that Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc could be even faster than the Dutchman right now.

Lewis Hamilton dragged a poor Mercedes car into third in the Drivers’ Championship while George Russell struggled.

It’s hard to look past Fernando Alonso too, who at 42 is still competing at the very highest level in his Aston Martin.

However, Bernie Collins wanted to highlight what a fantastic season Alex Albon had at Williams this year.

The 27-year-old scored almost every point for his team this year, with his performances in Canada and Italy standing out.

His contract runs out at the end of next year and he’s been tipped to be central to how the driver market shakes out.

Collins says Albon really outperformed his car this season

Asked who really upped the ante this year beyond Max Verstappen, Collins said: “There’s a few up and down the grid.

“The one that stands out to me and I was thinking more of overperforming the car and got results way better than I think the car deserved and that was [Alex] Albon.

“I think Albon’s really outdriven the car this year, he’s scored all of the points I think for Williams bar one and they managed to finish P7 in the championship with a car that arguably doesn’t look P7 in the championship.

“And that’s consistency, it’s consistency in qualifying, consistency in the race. So, I think and for someone who didn’t do well at Red Bull, he’s really matured into that car. So, I thought Albon was a pretty good shout.”

Plenty of F1 fans would agree with Collins that Albon has been sensational this season.

The performances of rookie Logan Sargeant in the other Williams highlight just how good the Thai driver was.

The American only scored a point this season because Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton were disqualified in Austin.

Williams have to back Albon next year, although team principal James Vowles has already suggested that they may sacrifice preparations in 2024 for the long-term future of the team.

If that’s the case, they need to somehow convince Albon that Williams is a project that he should commit to for the foreseeable future.