Albon Leverages Colapinto’s Data After Austin Setup Struggles

Alex Albon turns to Colapinto’s settings after Austin’s challenges, seeking improvement for the upcoming Mexican Grand Prix.

Alex Albon was unable to make the updated parts work despite several setup tests in Austin, aimed at understanding the extent of Williams F1’s upgrades. In Mexico, he will therefore rely more on the settings that proved successful for Franco Colapinto during the United States Grand Prix.

“We have a different balance with the new improvements we’ve brought to the car. We don’t quite understand them yet. Even though we’re faster, we’re not as comfortable,” said the Thai driver.

“We can see it in the data, we can see that we’re just trying to figure out what’s happening. This will be the first weekend where I’ll lean a bit more on what the other side of the garage has done and see if that can help solve some of the issues I’ve had.”

“I think in Mexico, it will be very important for us to try to get things right because, on paper, the areas where I’ve struggled are very specific to certain types of corners, and Mexico has a lot of those—those low-speed corners.”

However, he remains pleased with the team’s progress and its ability to regularly fight for points: “It’s good. We’ve had the simulator running throughout the weekend and over the past few days, we’ve been trying to understand the differences. But it lifts me up, and it lifts everyone in the team.”

“When I have a bad weekend, we’re still scoring points, so that’s really positive,” Albon continued, showing no concerns about the pressure he’s under. “No, not at all. I’ve dealt with it for years now. At Williams, of course, but that’s always been the way. That’s how we’ve raced since we were nine years old, so it’s fine.”

Asked about the ongoing debate on track limits, Albon believes drivers know exactly how to exploit the rules and push the boundaries: “I think it’s tricky because it’s always under control, but there should be positions given back if you go off track. But we shouldn’t even be talking about it—the way circuits are designed allows us to do a lot.”

“Drivers play with the rules, we know what we’re doing, it’s no secret. If you’re in front and blocking the car behind, we know exactly what we’re doing, so we need tracks that prevent that. The Red Bull Ring is a good example—it removed track limits but also reduced the battles. It’s not always logical.”