Alexander Albon has commended the job that James Vowles has done in his first month as Williams’ Team Principal.
Vowles departed the Mercedes F1 squad, having played a key role throughout its dominant era, to spearhead Williams for the 2023 season.
The Briton was only able to start in his new position in the days prior to pre-season testing, meaning he is likely still adjusting to his new environment.
But with many successful years at Mercedes under his belt as part of its strategy team, Albon expressed confidence that Vowles is the right person to lead Williams forward.
“James has definitely got the knowledge from Mercedes,”he said. “He’s obviously a smart guy we need right now.
“It’s something where of course I think we do a lot of things good and there’s obviously other areas we can do differently, long term, short term, medium term.
“There’s all aspects to look at so I would say he’s only been here for a short while but listening to what he has to say he’s bringing a lot to the table.
“Hopefully that will keep on happening and I would say a lot of it is more long term than short term but I’m excited to see the progress.”
Williams started the year off in strong fashion, with Albon picking up a point at the season-opening race in Bahrain.
The Grove-based squad was tipped by many to be the 10th fastest team across the 2023 campaign.
However, the tightness of the midfield group means there is currently no obvious indication of who is slowest.
When asked if Williams’ pace to start the year was a surprise to him, Albon said: “A little bit.
“In terms of a feeling with a car it feels quite similar to last year but we’ve definitely made some small steps here and there and as they’ve added up, it’s clearly much better.
“I’m feeling like we’re in a much better place and we know there’s room for improvement as well which excites me a lot.”
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