Albon names biggest 'missed opportunity' from F1 season

Alex Albon has described what he believes is his biggest “missed opportunity” from the 2023 Formula 1 season.

The Thai-British driver enjoyed a successful second season with Williams, scoring 27 points to help the team end the Constructors' Championship in seventh place - its highest result since 2017.

Albon scored multiple top 10 finishes during the campaign with his best result coming in Montreal and Monza, where he crossed the line in seventh place.

While the results went in Williams' favour at times this year, it was often due to its strong straight-line speed that made it difficult to be overtaken.

“I'm very proud of what we've achieved at the team,” Albon told media including RacingNews365. “I think about the races that we've scored points in.

“We haven't had a smooth race where we've just gone ‘Well, that was that was nice’.

“I wish we had more of them but unfortunately, a lot of them are holding up a bunch of cars behind us, which is what we've become renowned for.

“The car has improved a lot from last year. We’re going into every weekend feeling like there's a chance to score points.

“But even in that case our race pace is not always that great. And yet you still come away with points.”

Missed opportunity

Albon was paired with rookie Logan Sargeant this year, who endured a challenging campaign as he was involved in several accidents.

Sargeant scored a singular point during the season and was the only driver to be out-qualified by his team-mate at every race.

While Albon was the superior driver at Williams, the 27-year-old made a costly mistake at the Australian Grand Prix.

Running deep inside the points, Albon lost control of his car at Turn 6 and hit the barrier, eliminating him from the race - leaving him to label it as his biggest missed opportunity of the campaign.

“I have to say that in reflection, I've had a lot of fun moments this year,” he said.

“I think it also just speaks to the fact that Melbourne was the only race where I felt like I missed an opportunity to score points.

“But every other race we've done this year, when there's been a chance we've done it.

“I think that's been the main difference against our rivals.”