Albon has 'everything he needs' to be world champion as Williams hail his qualities

Alex Albon has been hailed as a potential world champion by Williams’ Head of Vehicle Performance, Dave Robson, who believes that the Thai driver has “everything he needs” to reach the top.

Since arriving at the team in 2022 – off the back of a year on the sidelines, after he was replaced at Red Bull by Sergio Perez – Albon has continued to impress those within the Grove-based outfit, having scored the majority of the squad’s points in each season he has raced for them.

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But it's not just his on-track performances that have cemented the 28-year-old’s reputation at Williams. Speaking to the F1 Nation podcast, Robson detailed how Albon’s feedback and set-up work adds to his skillset.

“I think he is exceptionally good,” said Robson. “He's exceptionally quick. He's also very smart and his feedback that goes into those set-ups is important. He was extremely good throughout Saturday [in Monaco].

“Some drivers are not a big fan of doing set-up work in Monaco. They'd rather just be on the track and finding their own rhythm but he was very open-minded, could see the potential benefits and was very happy to do that test.”

Albon scored his and Williams’ first points of the season by finishing in P9 at the Monaco Grand Prix, and Robson believes that his performance at the demanding circuit showcased his ability to cope with pressure in the sport.

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“Dealing with the pressure in Monaco, when we got him into some free air in the qualifying sessions, he was able to nail it and we've seen that routinely throughout the last couple years,” Robson added.

“He's got really good pace, he's got a lot of intelligence, works really well with his engineers, and so far deals with the pressure very well.”

It was confirmed in May that Albon had signed a multi-year contract extension with the team, meaning that he will remain onboard through to the introduction of new technical regulations in 2026.

Team boss James Vowles has spoken highly of the driver, and Robson agrees that Albon is of world championship calibre.

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“You've heard James Vowles say it as well. He's got everything he needs, except the car right at this moment, to be world champion,” Robson stated. “We just need to provide him with that car, which obviously over the next couple of years we're looking to do.”