Alexander Albon believes Red Bull’s second F1 team has improved its performance now it is using more parts supplied by the world champions.
The team now known as RB decided last year to bring its car design philosophy closer to that of Red Bull. The new RB 01 has more similarities with last year’s dominant RB19.
“They’ve made a step,” Albon told the official F1 channel, pausing as he weighed his words. “I think they’ve definitely… gathered some parts.
“They look very, very, very quick. So I think they’ve made a big step, which is just the way it is. But we’re there. We’re not far away, I don’t think.”
Albon’s Williams team battled with RB – previously known as AlphaTauri – for the minor points through the 2023 season. Williams narrowly beat the second Red Bull team to seventh in last year’s constructors’ championship.
Williams have also made significant changes to their car’s design during the off-season, which Albon believes has paid off.
“I think we will have a bit more of a – I don’t want to say ‘normal’ racing car – but I think our balance windows and our speed will very much merge to the kind of the norm in the grid,” he explained.
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“I still think, that being said, Monza and tracks like that will be good for us. But we should be much better at tracks like here [Bahrain] or whatever. Time will tell. I’ve only done 40 laps, so not that exciting.”
With team principal James Vowles admitting Williams have taken risks with an aggressive design for their new car, Albon says he can feel the difference to last year’s car.
“Kinematically, the feeling of the front of the car is totally different,” he said.
“It’s totally new, totally redesigned. So the feedback you get in your hands is totally different. We’ve got a Mercedes rear end in the car now, so that’s very different, we’ve got a totally different balance set-up philosophy. So there’s loads of things going on and it all feels like it’s going in the right direction.
“But it’s strange – I’ve spent two years now developing, or driving, a car that has certain characteristics, unique characteristics. And now that kind of all goes in the bin and I’m learning again.”
So major are the changes, Albon says, that it almost feels to him like he’s racing for a different team to last season.
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