Alex Albon makes ‘painful’ 2025 admission about Williams car development

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Alex Albon says he finds one aspect of Williams’ car development ‘painful’ as they look to climb the midfield.

Albon and Williams haven’t been able to get any points on the board in the first two races.

And he’s made a frank admission regarding the team’s chances of solving some of their issues.

Albon qualified 12th for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix last time out but was nearly four tenths of a second off the time he needed to make Q3.

He would climb one spot to 11th on race day, with Nico Hulkenberg finishing 11 seconds up the road in the final points-paying position.

Albon found himself stuck behind the other Haas of Kevin Magnussen, who was able to create a gap for his teammate before his pit stop.

Magnussen earned a 10-second penalty after the stewards decided he’d caused a collision with Albon.

The former Red Bull driver sustained front wing damage in the turn-four incident.

Alex Albon says patience required for Williams

Speaking on the Beyond The Grid podcast, Albon said that Williams understand where they need to improve the car.

However, he concedes that it won’t be until next year that they’re able to make some of the necessary changes.

While upgrades are in the pipeline in the short term, the key will be whether they can improve more than their competitors.

He said: “In our heads, without exposing too much, we’ve got a very good platform. We know where the lap time is.

“Some of it is achievable, some of it is more for next year, which obviously is a bit painful to say because it’s far away, but that’s just the way it is.

“We have a good foundation, and we’ve got some updates coming, but everyone does.

“You’re only trying outperform and overachieve compared to the others.

“We know we’ve got lap time hiding in the car, but let’s see what the others have.”

Who will drive for Williams in 2025?

It’s significant to hear Albon talking about 2025, because his future at Williams isn’t entirely certain.

He’s under contract until the end of next year but Sky Sports F1 pundit Naomi Schiff has suggested he could be in contention for the vacant Mercedes seat.

Lewis Hamilton is leaving the Silver Arrows at the end of this year to join Ferrari.

Albon himself says he’s aware of some of the ‘opportunities’ that may be available for next year, but insists he’s focused on Williams.

There are far more question marks around the other seat at the Grove outfit.

Team principal James Vowles told Logan Sargeant before the racing began that he needed to be the ‘surprise of the season’ to keep his drive.

But with Sargeant still struggling to get close to Albon, the speculation is bound to ramp up.

Sky F1’s David Croft has already put forward Mercedes youngster Andrea Kimi Antonelli as a potential name for the iconic team.