Alexander Albon reflects on a challenging season for Williams F1, embracing long-term ambitions despite setbacks and missed opportunities in 2024.
Alexander Albon scored 12 of Williams F1’s 17 points in the Constructors’ Championship this year. The team finished a distant ninth, standing out more for the sheer number of accidents it endured—mostly involving Logan Sargeant or Franco Colapinto. Yet, Alexander Albon, the team leader, is not entirely blameless.
As he reflects on this forgettable 2024 season, the Thai driver is both clear-eyed and unsparing. The verdict is harsh.
“My general opinion is that it’s a bit of a missed opportunity,” he said. “It’s easy to focus on the end of the season and the accidents, but in reality, we started with a car that was too heavy. We should have scored far more points at the beginning of the year.”
“We had just one update, which was a good step forward, and we managed to have a respectable middle portion of the season. But the plan was always to shift focus early to the following year, and at that point, many teams overtook us.”
“So, if we had started stronger, like Aston did—with a promising start followed by a late-season decline—we’d still have had a solid season. But that’s not what happened.”
“I think our best stretch was mid-season: Monza, Baku, a bit of Singapore—that’s when our car performed well. But now, everyone has caught up to us. We’ve also had plenty of bad luck and issues, and, to be honest, many accidents.”
“But in some ways, I feel it’s more about the missed opportunity at the start of the year than anything else.”
Alexander Albon supports James Vowles’ “all-in for 2026” strategy.
Is Albon disappointed that Williams F1 is prioritizing 2026 over 2024 or 2025?
Not in the slightest—he fully endorses the approach taken by his team principal, James Vowles.
“Ultimately, I’m not too upset. I’m not here for short-term success. I’m here for the long term, so I’m fine with that,” he said.
“Team principals can talk, but I think it’s quite clear with the setbacks we’ve faced this year. We’ve been fairly transparent about it, and I think James is very honest about where we are, showing the direction and the steps back we need to take in certain areas to put ourselves in a better position for the future.”
Albon particularly values James Vowles’ candor and blunt honesty about Williams F1’s current state.
“He’s also very honest and open with me, and we have this straightforward dialogue. Maybe it’s taking a bit longer than we’d like, but I’m glad we have the ambition to aim for more than just fighting in the midfield. We want more than that, so we keep making sacrifices just to get the updates.”
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Williams F1 Eyes 2026 After Painful 2024 Lessons Williams F1 Eyes 2026 After Painful 2024 Lessons
