Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | RSS | More
After qualifying eighth and finishing a solid seventh in the Canadian Grand Prix, Williams’ Alex Albon has single-handedly moved the British constructor ahead of championship rivals AlphaTauri and off of the bottom of the constructors standings.
Albon is the only driver in F1 to maintain a perfect qualifying record after eight Grands Prix in 2023, having bested his American teammate Logan Sargeant in time trials ahead of every single round. Albon has also led Sargeant home all five times that both drivers have taken the checkered flag.
Albon’s old F2 rival George Russell leveraged similar statistics at the perennial underdog outfit between 2019 and 2021 to earn himself a seat at Mercedes-AMG Petronas, and with Albon’s strong run of form since returning to the F1 grid in 2022, a promotion might be in order.
The difference, explain The Pit Straight co-hosts Jack Swansey and Alex Gintz, is that Albon’s underwhelming run as Max Verstappen‘s Red Bull Racing teammate still weighs at the front of many minds in the sport. Is Albon rebuilding his reputation at Williams? Should he stick with the team? What other drivers have taken a similarly unconventional career path?
The Pit Straight is Frontstretch‘s F1 podcast, available weekly on Tuesdays on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and right here on the web.
About the author
Jack Swansey primarily covers open-wheel racing for Frontstretch and co-hosts The Pit Straight Podcast,but you can also catch him writing about NASCAR, sports cars, and anything else with four wheels and a motor. Originally from North Carolina and now residing in Los Angeles, he joined the site as Sunday news writer midway through 2022 and is an avid collector (some would say hoarder) of die-cast cars.
A daily email update (Monday through Friday) providing racing news, commentary, features, and information from Frontstretch.com
We hate spam. Your email address will not be sold or shared with anyone else.