“We’ve been on the backfoot”: Alex Albon delivers assessment of Williams' 2024 season amid Carlos Sainz announcement

Alex Albon recently gave a dull outlook on Williams' performance in the 2024 F1 season. He explained how the British team would use the summer break to improve their development cycle for 2024 and 2025. These statements were made a few days before the team announced Carlos Sainz as their future driver from 2025.

Williams has not been able to score decent points in the 2024 F1 season. They are currently in ninth place in the constructors' championship table with only four points. While Alex Albon managed to get those four points for the team before the summer break, his teammate Logan Sargeant still sits at zero points.

The British team recently decided to replace Sargeant with Carlos Sainz. The Spaniard will be replaced by Lewis Hamilton in Ferrari and will move to Williams in 2025. The announcement about Sainz's arrival was made after the Belgian GP.

Before Carlos Sainz was confirmed, Alex Albon gave an overview of Williams' performance in 2024 after the Belgian GP. He told F1.com how the team was on the back foot right from the beginning and was late in bringing upgrades to the car.

He then explained how Williams would use the summer break to fix issues through development. He added that the team will not only focus on their 2024 F1 car but also look towards 2025 when Sainz joins them.

"We’ve been on the back foot from the very beginning. We were late with our car and we’ve been paying the price the whole season so far. That’s about it," Albon said.

"We are digging deep. I think we have got some good things [coming] in the future. At the same time, got some areas we need to work on. We will use this break to really focus on the development, not just for this year but especially for next year," he added.

Alex Albon joined Williams in 2022 after being dropped by Red Bull in 2020. As of now, he has scored 35 points for the team in the last two and a half years.

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James Vowles confident that Alex Albon and Carlos Sainz would push Williams forward

While announcing Carlos Sainz's arrival in Williams, James Vowles reckons that his future partnership with Alex Albon would prove fruitful for the team.

In the official announcement, Vowles stated that Albon and Sainz's partnership would be "formidable". He added that both drivers strongly believe in the team's mission to move up the grid and fight for podiums and race wins.

“In Alex and Carlos we will have one of the most formidable driver line-ups on the grid and with huge experience to guide us into the new regulations in 2026. Their belief in this organization’s mission demonstrates the magnitude of the work going on behind the scenes," Vowles said.

Both Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon entered F1 through Red Bull's junior program. They first entered Toro Rosso (currently RB) and were also promoted to Red Bull.