F1 News: Williams To Build Team Around Alex Albon - "Drive of Champions"

James Vowles is very happy with the performance and skill that Alex Albon brings to the table at Williams F1 team.

After weeks of us praising Alex Albon on the Driven Mad Podcast for his show of skill so far this season, Williams team principal James Vowles has now revealed that he will be building the team around the impressive driver. The Thai-British wheelman got off to a rocky start in his career, but after leaving Red Bull for the modest British team, he has settled in as an experienced and talented part of the grid.

Albon has so far collected 7 points for his team, while his American teammate Logan Sargeant is yet to do so. And because of this, it's no surprise that Williams is looking to extend the driver's contract by several years so they can build a reliable, championship-winning team around him.

The Canadian Grand Prix was a real highlight for Alex, who raced to seventh place, beating his rivals with a one-stop strategy and excellent strategy during qualifying. He started off in ninth place, but by the 12th lap, he was in the pit, swapping his Medium tyres for Hards. Those tyres held up for the rest of the grand prix allowing him to take home his best finish yet this season.

Talking to the Beyond the Grid Podcast, Vowles was quick to praise Albon for his work this year.

"There’s no ego,” he said about Albon, before continuing to discuss his Canadian result. "He’s a funny chap. I called him to explain to him that it was a drive of champions.

“I’ve worked with a good number of them and it really was."

Vowles certainly knows what he's talking about. He's worked with plenty of champions, including Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes, and he reckons Albon is on his way to becoming one of them. He isn't just impressed by Albon's driving - it's his whole attitude that has Vowles convinced he's a star in the making.

“He didn’t put a foot wrong at a point where he was under pressure from four incredibly fast-charging cars behind on tyres that were in a much better state than his.

“Some of the work that he was doing, repositioning his car on the exit of Turn 10 and a few other corners was very clever.

“He recognises that. He knows that, he’s not someone that’s going to go and boast about it to the world. But to me, that was a drive of champions that he did.

“He’s definitely bringing the car to the limit of its performance, which is what you’re looking for out of a driver.

“I think he’s very underrated and I’m incredibly happy that he’s here in our organisation today and here for a long time.”

Vowles was then asked whether he would build the team around the young driver:

“Yes. Yes, I would.

“He’s got leadership qualities to him. There are areas where he and I talk about where I think he can do more in certain areas.

“But he’s got what it takes to bring us forward as an organisation. Certainly the future, from where I am at the moment, I hope that he’s very much a part of it.”