“I think the team knows how good he is”: Alex Albon defends his Williams teammate Franco Colapinto 

Alex Albon, who has been a Williams driver since 2022, had many supportive things to say about his teammate from part of the 2024 season, Franco Colapinto. The Thai driver talked about how his Argentine teammate's crashes in the season shouldn't be held against him. He also said how the F1 rookie did a good job with the tools he had and the situations he was put in.

Albon also commented on how the car had changed towards the end of the season, which also contributed towards Colapinto and his own performances. Colapinto also suffered from crashes in Brazil and in Las Vegas, which may have affected his chances to secure a 2025 seat. However, according to Albon, it shouldn't be something that eclipses the 21-year-old's work this season.

"I think it really goes in tandem with the performance of the car, and it became tricky at the end of the season. It was tricky for me. I didn't have a fantastic end of the season, and I don't always just blame myself, so I think the team knows how good he is," Alex Albon said via Motosport.

The 28-year-old also spoke about how the competition became more challenging as the season progressed, making it trickier to judge Colapinto:

"To be fair he did a very good job in Baku and Singapore, and they weren't easy tracks to drive. And then it's just F1; I think we've fallen back. You could still get into Q2 with an average lap whereas later you had to do a great lap to get into Q2 and all these kind of things. And it just distorts slightly where it comes."

While Alex Albon will return to the grid in 2025, Franco Colapinto leaves F1 for now, finishing his season with five points and 19th place in the standings. Speaking about whether he thinks the Argentinian will be back on the grid someday, Albon said:

"He's a fantastic driver. I feel like he's proved his worth in Formula 1. Definitely, when he joined, I underestimated just how quick he was going to be, and I believe we'll see him in Formula 1 at some point in the future."

Alex Albon will be joined on the grid next year by outgoing Ferrari driver and P5 in the drivers' championship, Carlos Sainz.

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Alex Albon looking forward to the challenge of Carlos Sainz

Alex Albon driving ahead of Carlos Sainz in Montreal, Canada earlier this year - Source: Getty

With new teammate Carlos Sainz set to join Alex Albon on the F1 grid next year, the Thai driver spoke about what he believes the Spaniard will bring to the table (via SkySports).

"It will be a great challenge. I think we'll push each other hard."

"Especially with his experience, I'll be really interested to hear what he can bring into the team - not just in terms of feedback about the car but even driving styles and that kind of thing."

Alex Albon and Carlos Sainz will be racing under the Williams banner once the 2025 F1 season kicks off with the first race in Australia.