Alexander Albon says securing his long-term Formula 1 future was his main ambition upon returning to the grid in 2022.
Albon spent 2019/20 racing in Formula 1, stepping up to Red Bull from Toro Rosso midway through his rookie campaign, but was shuffled back to a reserve role for 2021.
Albon remained active, racing in DTM, before getting a second chance in Formula 1 with Williams for 2022.
The Anglo-Thai spearheaded Williams’ challenge in 2022, scoring points on three occasions, and was retained by the team on a multi-year deal.
“If I look truthfully, the main thing I wanted when I got back into F1 was to stay in F1,” said Albon.
“It sounds a silly thing to say, but it’s true; when you have a one-year contract there’s no guarantee [beyond 2022], and that box has been firmly ticked.”
Albon also explained that his year with Williams has enabled him to re-find his confidence after his previous tricky campaign in 2020.
“In terms of myself, driving, and getting that confidence back behind the wheel, and getting into rhythm of the car, being on the limit, feeling like I’m in control, I do feel I’ve got that back,” said Albon.
“I lost it a little bit during that 2020 season, and when you’re driving a DTM car it’s completely different – you can’t really gauge where you’re at – but now I feel I’m driving well, and a lot of that is down to confidence in the car, and that’s something in feel like I’ve ticked.
“I do feel I’ve done a good job this year and feel like I’ve proven myself to what I know I can do.
“Of course I still want to push on and get good results and impress and show the team what I can do, but for this year, having the year out, all things considered I feel it has been a positive year – it’s maybe even gone better than I expected.”
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