Albon issues Sainz warning ahead of Williams arrival

Alex Albon has informed Carlos Sainz to expect a much different environment when he joins Williams from Ferrari next year.

Sainz spent several months in negotiations over his F1 future after losing his Ferrari drive to seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton.

The Spaniard opted for Williams, signing a multi-year contract with the squad to race alongside Alex Albon from next year.

The move will likely be a significant step back in the pecking order, with Williams currently ninth in the constructors’ championship while Ferrari sits inside the top three.

Albon outlined Williams’ deficit to Ferrari goes further than pure pace.

“Of course, we're not [level] in terms of performance, but also structure,” Albon told media including RacingNews365.

“We’re not at the same level as Ferrari. We've seen it this year as well, especially across cars and the differences between cars and issues with parts being delayed and whatnot.

“It’s going to be a challenge, that's for sure, I think it's going to be quite a different environment for him.”

Albon calls for development push

Williams team principal James Vowles has insisted on multiple occasions that its recovery will take several years.

Albon called on Williams to right its wrongs across the coming months to feed its driver line-up with competitive machinery in the years ahead.

“But the main thing for us is to make sure that we fix them,” he said.

“We can't go through another year like we have this year into next year.

“It’s going to be a big focus to make sure that both cars are performing well next year and trying to score points at every race for both cars.

“That’s a big thing for us as a team as well. It's great to have Carlos on board, and now we need to be able to facilitate and create a team where we can fight for points regularly.”