Williams F1 boss sets huge expectations on Alex Albon of winning races: “He has the potential”

Williams F1 boss James Vowles feels Alex Albon should target wins and podiums given his potential inside the car.

The Thai driver and Vowles have taken the struggling Williams F1 team into a genuine midfield car in the 2023 season as he has scored all 21 points. Although the FW-45 still regularly features in the back half of the grid, Alex Albon has taken back-to-back points finishes in recent races.

Speaking with the media including Sportskeeda, Vowles claimed that the former Red Bull driver does have the 'potential' to compete for bigger things in his career but has to be patient as he has many years in the sport. He said:

"He should be aiming for winning races and being on the podium. He has the potential and he frankly deserves to be in that position. But more so that's a journey he's happy to do with Williams whilst we're on the pathway towards it at the same time."

He added:

"That's the perfect summary of that situation. He's a racing driver coming to the peak of his career, he should absolutely be focused on doing the best he can with his God-given ability, while it still exists."

"I'd be disappointed if any team-mate joined me and said: ‘All I'm interested in doing is scoring the odd point.' They shouldn't [have that mindset]. They should be focused on winning races and performing at the utmost."

James Vowles claims Alex Albon's Monza driver is better than Montreal

The Williams F1 team boss stated that Alex Albon's P7 at Monza this weekend was a better drive than his Montreal performance where he got the same result.

Speaking with Motorsport.com, Vowles said:

"I think in Montreal, there is actually really only one overtaking point. And if you get your exit right there and do the right things, you can stop it. In Monza, there are three or four areas where you can quite easily lose position. And in fact, you did see Alex lose position but, when he did, he positioned himself straight away for the repass."

"So he was very much in control of what he was doing in that race and the result was very much the reward of seventh place. It would have been easy to lose one, and then those three positions, and he never did.

On the back of Alex Albon's performances, Williams are sitting pretty in P7 in the constructors' championship with a healthy margin over their nearest rivals. However, there aren't many tracks that might suit their package in the upcoming races so it would be interesting to see how they will fare.