Alex Albon backed to be 'different animal' in direct Max Verstappen fight

Williams F1 team principal James Vowles believes Alex Albon would be a “different animal” if he came up against Max Verstappen in a head-to-head fight today.

Albon was promoted to Red Bull midway through his rookie season in 2019 to partner Verstappen.

The Thai-British driver struggled for form alongside the Dutchman and was dropped at the end of 2020 before linking up with Williams at the start of the 2022 campaign.

He has since played a starring role within the team and has scored a majority of its points this year despite being partnered with four-time race winner Carlos Sainz.

When asked if he underestimated Albon before Sainz’s arrival, Vowles told media including RacingNews365: “It’s an interesting talk that I haven't had with him yet.

“He will always say ‘I'm as quick as he is’.

“The simple fact behind it is, if you put him up against Max today, he would be a completely different animal to what was there before.

“That's the clear element behind him.”

Vowles does not believe Albon's raw speed has changed since his exit from Red Bull, but rather he has become more adept at dealing with challenging situations.

“The way I'm perhaps adjudicating him isn't just about how fast he is in the car, he always has been,” Vowles said.

“But [it’s] actually how resilient he is to everything, things going wrong around him, and how strong he is in that circumstance.

“So I think his peak level, has it gone up a lot? Probably not. Is the ability to get there every time there? Yes, that's what I'm seeing.”