Alex Albon frustration defended as Williams 'relationship' tested: 'This is not a new girlfriend'

Former F1 driver David Coulthard has defended Alex Albon's growing frustration with Williams this season, insisting the team is no longer a "new girlfriend" to the 30-year-old.

The opening campaign under the new power unit regulations is quickly becoming one of the most difficult of Albon's F1 career, with the Thai-British driver being plagued by regular issues.

Albon has vented his frustration several times during media sessions and over the team radio, largely because he has been completely lost as to where the car's pace has gone.

He described Williams' FW48 as "strange" during the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix, an event that saw him suffer yet another issue that forced him into the garage for several laps.

A loose camera forced Albon into the garage, to the extent that the race became about simply gathering mileage, with the 30-year-old lacking confidence in the car through the corners.

Albon has scored just five points across the opening seven races and, having been with Williams since 2022, Coulthard believes he is no "closer to the moon" than when he first joined the team.

Asked if Albon's frustration is greater than Sainz's, Coulthard said on the Up to Speed podcast: "I think his frustration is visible when you listen to the radio and watch him. 

"This is not a new girlfriend, where he's all giddy with excitement. "This is a relationship, and that relationship has done this, and then it's done that.

"It takes a huge amount of emotional commitment, physical commitment and life commitment to be a racing driver. It's not something you just turn off on a Friday night and turn back on on a Monday morning. It's not a nine-to-five job.

"He is absolutely committed to this journey, and the journey has not taken him closer to the moon. So, I guess he will understandably be thinking, 'Look, I've been on this journey for a long time. What's going wrong? Why are we not seeing the progress, which I think has been there over the last couple of races?'"