Following a year out of a race seat in 2021, Alex Albon has given his verdict on the first half of his 2022 season. A difficult season at Red Bull in 2020 resulted in Albon being demoted in favour of Sergio Perez for the following year. Albon spent 2021 as Red Bull's reserve and test driver, whilst also competing in the DTM Championship, taking one win and three other podiums. Having signed for Williams for 2022, the Anglo-Thai driver has regularly outpaced teammate Nicholas Latifi, and has so far been responsible for all of the team's points in 2022. Albon's performances have encouraged Williams to retain him for 2023, offering him a new 'multi-year' contract. Speaking after the Hungarian Grand Prix, Albon said that he had been pleased with his own performances, and was optimistic about his future at Williams. "I'm really happy if I'm honest," Albon told media, including RacingNews365.com . "I feel like it's been a great year back into Formula 1. Obviously, we're not really where we want to be in terms of positions but, personally, I'm very happy and I feel like it will only get better. "I only feel like I'll improve and get stronger as the season goes on, and same with the team. "I think we've got some really good chemistry and good dialogue between us and we're pretty sure what we need to do to improve, it's just about doing it."
Albon eyeing improvements at Spa and Monza
The new generation of Formula 1 cars introduced in 2022 were targeted by many teams as an opportunity to move higher up the grid. Williams have spent the last five seasons attempting to move away from the foot of the Constructors' Championship standings, but have so far been unable to buck the trend. The team are currently at the bottom of the standings with three points, and 17 behind Aston Martin. Albon explained that the latest-specification Williams has a more temperamental nature and that any improved performances would be track-specific. "We know where we're weak, and we know why we're weak, which is one of the main steps of moving forwards," commented Albon. "We know that the new package is a bit more sensitive than the previous one. As you can see, when it's in its window, it's strong. So we just need to figure out ways to help that and get that consistency, and get that window a little bit bigger. "I think once we can do that we can really start challenging in all circuits. But for now, we're kind of relying on a few tracks to challenge for points and the other ones, we were kind of scrambling a little bit." Albon was then asked if he believed any of the tracks coming up after the summer break would be better suited to the Williams. "We've got three European races, hopefully we can bounce back strong. They're three very different styles of circuits as well," Albon added. "I'm thinking Spa and Monza are not bad tracks for us, but we'll see what we get."
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