Alex Albon shares if he thinks he’d be improving more if his teammate wasn’t Logan Sargeant

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Williams driver Alex Albon has responded when asked if he would be improving faster if he was up against a quicker teammate than Logan Sargeant.

Alex Albon virtually single-handedly earned Williams a 7^th-place finish in the Constructors’ Championship last season, with the American struggling during his debut Formula 1 campaign.

Speaking on the Beyond The Grid Podcast, Albon was asked whether fighting against the 23-year-old is getting the best out of him.

Albon makes ‘faster’ claim about Williams teammate Sargeant

It’s said that the only way to truly know how quick a Formula 1 driver is is to compare them to their teammate.

They’re the only other person on the grid with exactly the same machinery and in the case of Williams, one driver has clearly stood out over the last year.

Alex Albon is more experienced than Logan Sargeant and has driven for one of the best teams on the grid.

However, he struggled up against Max Verstappen at Red Bull and after another being off the grid for a year, Williams offered him a chance of a return.

He’s gone from strength to strength in recent years and was highly praised for his performances last year.

Karun Chandhok has suggested in the past that it’s hard to judge just how good Albon was in 2023 because he was so much faster than Sargeant.

The American took up a long time to get up to speed last year and even now seems a long way off Albon.

Albon questions if he’s being pushed to the maximum at Williams

Podcast host Tom Clarkson asked the Thai driver: “If you were under more pressure from your teammate, do you think your rate of improvement would be faster?”

Albon responded: “Tricky question. Different drivers respond very differently so I think some drivers need that kind of prod, other drivers actually are the total opposite.

“If they can be in their happy space, that’s where they perform the best.

“For me, it’s somewhere in the middle. What I’ve learnt is the more I can just focus and be in the present and not worry about the other side and that kind of thing, that’s how I perform the best.

“But at the same time, I love that fight, I enjoy the competition. So, it’s somewhere in between.”

Asked if he learned more up against Max Verstappen and Daniil Kvyat, Albon added: “Again, tough question! I would say, of course, yes because I was also so inexperienced to start with.

“The rate of learning, and what I had to learn and what there was to learn was so much more when I started Formula 1 than what it is now.”

Williams will only know if Albon could be even faster alongside a new teammate if they replace Sargeant.

Right now, it’s hard to say that he’s doing a good enough job to earn another contract extension.

James Vowles has already told him he needs to be the surprise of the season this year and unfortunately, he’s not living up to that billing.