Albon: It feels like I’ve changed teams

Alex Albon is tasked with completing the Williams program during pre-season testing; On Friday he will spend a full day behind the wheel of the FW46, the team’s new car. Obviously this will help him enormously in his preparation for the season, especially as he says Williams has adapted its approach to chassis development so much that it feels like he is driving a different team’s car.

James Vowles, head of Williams, has repeatedly emphasized that the team wanted to make the car more versatile so that it could compete for high results on all championship circuits, and not just on high-speed circuits that require settings for low levels of downforce. .

When Albon was asked about the differences between the FW46 and his usual vehicle, the driver replied: “From a kinematic point of view, the front of the car behaves differently and the driving experience is completely different. This is because the chassis is completely new and the design has been completely revised.

Mercedes now supplies us with the entire rear end (gearbox and rear suspension) and it all works differently. Therefore, the approach to the settings has completely changed and the car has a different balance – in general, there are a lot of changes and it seems that we are moving in the right direction.

But the feeling is strange: for two years I drove a car with certain characteristics and participated in its modernization, and now we can say that all this had to be thrown away. In most cases, every year cars inherit some features of previous models, and although regulations may change, the car may generate more downforce, some nuances may change, but the basics always remain the same.

And you only feel such changes when you change teams. And now it feels like I’ve changed teams, even though it’s clear I’m still with Williams.”