Alex Albon feels it’s ‘unfortunate’ what Williams F1 team were known for in 2023

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Williams driver Alex Albon feels it is ‘unfortunate’ what the Grove squad were known for in the 2023 Formula 1 season and ‘wishes’ the year panned out slightly differently.

The British team developed a reputation throughout the year for having to favour defensive tactics to score points. Albon took his and Williams’ best results of the season when the 27-year-old qualified well before turning his FW45 into a moving chicane during the Grand Prix.

Albon frustrated several drivers to finish seventh at the Canadian GP when the London-born Thai led a train of rivals. The likes of Alpine’s Esteban Ocon, McLaren’s Lando Norris and Alfa Romeo’s Valtteri Bottas all failed to overtake the Williams driver, despite the long DRS zones.

Alex Albon secured Williams’ best results of 2023 with defensive drives

Norris, again, spent his race stuck behind Albon at the Italian GP, too. The 24-year-old ended the race just 0.343 seconds behind the rear of his close friend’s Williams. He could not find a way around the FW15 to steal P7 at Monza throughout Norris’ race-long contest with Albon.

Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc similarly found himself stuck behind Albon as they fought over P8 at the British GP. The pair duelled over the last laps with Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso just 0.685 seconds ahead of the Williams star come the chequered flag at Silverstone in July.

Alex Albon ‘wishes’ the 2023 Formula 1 season went slightly differently

Albon secured Williams further points with a P8 at the Dutch GP, P9 at the United States GP and Mexico City GP and P10 at the Bahrain GP. Teammate Logan Sargeant, meanwhile, took his only point in P10 at October’s US GP after Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton’s disqualifications.

Sargeant’s sole point and Albon’s 27 were enough for Williams to finish 2023 seventh in the F1 constructors’ championship. But while he is ‘proud’ of the Grove squad, Albon admits he wishes their season panned out slightly differently to avoid enhancing their new reputation.

“I’m very proud of what we’ve achieved at the team,” Albon stated, via quotes by RaceFans. “I think about the races that we’ve scored points in, we haven’t had really a smooth race where we’ve just gone, ‘Ah, that was nice’.

“I wish we had more of them. But, unfortunately, a lot of them are holding up a bunch of cars behind us, which is what we’ve become renowned for.”