Albon admits he 'underestimated' Colapinto's potential at Williams

Alexander albon was certainly expecting a better season than that in 2024. The Thai was hoping to ride the good momentum of Williams end of 2023… but ultimately, the British team scored fewer points than last year and fell to 9th place in the Constructors' Championship. A regression that was accompanied by numerous and costly accidents throughout the season – 17 total – and a change of driver during the year. Due to a lack of convincing results, Logan Sargent was thanked and replaced by Franco Colapinto before the Italian Grand Prix in August.

The Argentinian quickly caused a sensation by scoring points in his second Grand Prix, when the American had not scored any. Despite rapid preparation and adaptation, the young rookie was in line with Alexander Albon, who was much more experienced: moreover, in the nine Grands Prix spent together at Williams, Franco Colapinto managed to beat the Thai driver twice in qualifying, something that Logan sargeant had never managed to do since 2023.

Alexander Albon was no longer used to being pushed around like this, he who had only known Nicholas latifi and Logan Sargeant as teammates at Williams. The man with two podiums in Formula 1 admits to having taken the sudden arrival of Franco Colapinto a little too lightly before raising his level of play at the end of the season. “He’s a fantastic driver. I think he’s proven his worth in Formula 1. When he joined the team I certainly underestimated his speed, and I think we’ll see him in F1 at some point in the future.”, concedes Alexander Albon, who will be associated with Carlos Sainz in 2025.

For Albon, Colapinto arrived at the right time in 2024

Alexander Albon believes his short-lived teammate did a very good job despite the pressure and lack of preparation when replacing Logan Sargeant. And even though the Argentinian's end of the season was marked by big crashes that cost Williams dearly, the Thai believes those mistakes have not cast a shadow over his Formula 1 adventure.

“I think it really goes hand in hand with the performance of the car, it got tricky at the end of the season. It was difficult for me as well. I didn’t have a fantastic end to the season and I don’t blame myself all the time, so I think the team knows how good he is,” the #23 said of his teammate, who will return to being a reserve driver for Williams in 2025. It's easy to push too hard when [the gaps are] so tight and there's no margin. We've both had some tough races, so I don't blame him too much. Especially in Brazil, it was his first time in the wet, it wasn't easy on a demanding track. And then, obviously, Las Vegas was very difficult."

For the Thai driver, Franco Colapinto was given a starting position at the right time at Williams, on circuits where the FW46 was competitive and capable of scoring points regularly. “In terms of timing, it was perfect that he came when the car was most competitive and perhaps easier to drive than it is now, on tracks that were also very enjoyable to drive, Alexander Albon points out about Franco Colapinto's thunderous debut at Monza, then in Baku and Austin where he won his first points. To be honest, he did a very good job in Baku and Singapore, which were not easy circuits to drive. And then I think we regressed: [in the middle of the season] you could still get into Q2 with an average lap, while later you had to do an exceptional lap to get into Q2. And that distorts the situation a little bit."

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