Alex Albon believes the arrival of Carlos Sainz at Williams will assist him to raised show his personal expertise stage by eradicating the burden that got here from being the benchmark himself because the group’s skilled driver.
Sainz opted to affix Williams for 2025 after Ferrari signed Lewis Hamilton to interchange him, the Spaniard making the transfer off the again of 4 victories for the Scuderia. Albon has been at Williams since 2022, partnering Nicholas Latifi in his first season and latterly Logan Sargeant and Franco Colapinto, and the 28-year-old believes Sainz would be the reference level he must cement his personal repute.
“I prefer it — it’s an incredible problem,” Albon advised RACER. “I feel Carlos is coming in with plenty of pedigree. I feel he’s had a unbelievable season as nicely towards Charles , who we all know is an especially sturdy driver.
“For myself, it’s nice to have the ability to have somebody who I can instantly examine towards. I really feel prefer it’s all the time been a little bit of a burden to me in some methods as a result of I really feel like nobody actually is aware of the place I stand. I’ve that confidence in myself that I’m fairly good.”
Albon admits his personal expertise of the Pink Bull setup is more likely to be usurped by Sainz’s newer historical past at Ferrari, and thinks that may assist push Williams because it appears to be like to maneuver ahead in 2025 and ’26.
“I’m glad that Carlos is there … simply what he brings to Williams goes to be actually necessary to us,” he mentioned. “That have that he has, the information of being in a prime group like Ferrari that’s performing nicely week in, week out.
“Once I joined Williams from Pink Bull, clearly there was so much that I wanted to offer and wished to offer to enhance the group. However I’ve now been within the group for 3 years and as a lot as I nonetheless push and put the group right into a course that I feel is required, having that contemporary mindset into it, I feel is simply going to be useful.
“For me as nicely, as a teammate, I feel I’m going to be very open-eared — simply wanting to listen to what he has to say concerning the automobile, but in addition what course he believes we have to go in.”
