F1: Williams on the back foot after Barcelona absence, says Albon ahead of regulation-shift season
Williams Racing driver Alexander Albon believes missing last month’s shakedown in Barcelona has left the team playing catch-up ahead of the new Formula One season.
With teams adapting to sweeping engine and chassis regulation changes, Williams skipped the Barcelona running and instead relied on simulator work with Albon and teammate Carlos Sainz.
Williams returned to the track during testing in Bahrain last week and continued running this week, but Albon said the missed session had cost valuable preparation time.
“Obviously it was frustrating to miss out in Barcelona,” the 29-year-old said.
“Clearly we missed an opportunity to learn. We are a little bit on the back foot compared to our rivals up and down the grid.
“There is so much learning to do in these days. Every day has become very valuable.”
Albon pointed to the progress the team had made during testing.
“Even just looking at ourselves, how much we’ve improved from the first day of testing last week to where we are now is huge.”
Team principal James Vowles has said Williams is targeting at least a repeat of its fifth-place finish in the constructors’ standings in 2025, its joint-best result in a decade.
“I share the same vision as James,” Albon said.
“It would be nice to be even closer to the top teams and pull away from the midfield fight.
“Realistically, it will be a big challenge for us to be there.
“We are a very ambitious team. Unfortunately we found some bottlenecks and we are on the back foot.
“We’re not where we want to be right now. That’s not to say we can’t get back into the top five in the constructors and have a good season, but we have some catching up to do.”
Thailand close to Albon’s heart
The London-born driver, who recently announced his engagement to Lily He, is only the second driver in 75 years of Formula One to race under the Thai flag.
“I feel very much Thai in who I am,” Albon said.
“I am Buddhist, and I feel very close to Thai people and Thai culture. I resonate much closer to Thailand than anywhere else. So it means a lot.”
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He recalled the significance of his first Formula One podium.
“What meant a lot to me was my first podium in Formula One, seeing the Thai flag behind me. It was very special.”
Albon also said he hopes to help bring a Grand Prix to Thailand.
“One of my biggest goals is to try to make this happen. It would be amazing for the country.
“We’re speaking almost every day about how we can make this work. It’s a big goal of mine.”
He believes Thailand could become a motorsport hub in Southeast Asia.
“There is not really a structure apart from Japan in motorsport in Southeast Asia.
“There needs to be one, and I would love it to be Thailand.
“It would be amazing for me to say Thailand is almost the Asian home of motorsport or Formula One.”
Published on Feb 20, 2026