According to Williams team boss James Vowles, Alex Albon is now on par with Max Verstappen. Both drivers were teammates at Red Bull between 2019 and 2020, but at the time, the British-Thai driver was completely overshadowed by the Dutchman. However, Albon is now described as a ‘completely different beast’; the 29-year-old driver is in his fourth season with Williams and has already achieved several strong results.
Albon was promoted to Red Bull midway through 2019, but failed to make much of an impression in a year and a half. He rarely held his own next to Verstappen and lost his seat in 2021. However, he returned to Formula 1 with Williams in 2022, where he has since developed into a reliable and consistent midfield driver. Thanks in part to his performances, the team currently holds an impressive fifth place in the championship.
Vowles believes that Albon has now reached a new level of flawless performance. “In 2023, he took a big step forward, and since then he has continued to grow every year,” Vowles commented during the Hungarian GP. “He has always been incredibly fast, but now he combines that with consistent performances. Our main task is to give him a car with which he can score, and this year we have succeeded for the first time.”
Albon versus Verstappen
“Furthermore, I commend Alex for making virtually no mistakes,” Vowles continued. “I can hardly remember a race or qualification where he did not deliver what we expected, apart from setbacks caused by the team. And even when things go wrong, he remains mentally incredibly strong. He processes it, and comes back stronger the next day. We all know how good Carlos Sainz is, and Alex holds his own excellently next to him.”
Since Albon’s departure from Red Bull, Max Verstappen has also grown stronger – with four world titles and 65 victories, he is one of the most successful drivers of all time. However, Vowles is convinced that his protégé would now hold his own alongside the Dutchman. “Put him next to Max today, and he’s a completely different beast,” the Brit assured. “It’s not just about speed – he’s always had that – but especially about the resilience he has developed, and how strong he remains when things go wrong.”
Please note that the reference to a photo of Max Verstappen and Alex Albon as teammates during the GP of Bahrain in 2020 has been omitted as per the instructions to exclude image captions and references to visual content.
