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By Alex Harrington
Sports Contributing Writer
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Alex Albon of Williams Racing has addressed the team's worrying performance so far in the 2024 Formula 1 season, pinning hopes on a significant mid-season upgrade to boost competitiveness. Amidst a challenging year, the Grove-based outfit is languishing in ninth place in the Constructors' Championship, having amassed a mere four points.
Throughout the 2024 season's 14 races so far, Albon's best finishes were seventh place at the iconic circuits of Monaco and Silverstone. However, these peaks were mired by a series of less impressive results, including a twelfth-place finish at the Belgian Grand Prix. After the race, Albon compared his performance to the competitive pace of drivers such as Alpine's Esteban Ocon and RB's Daniel Ricciardo.
"I think just not quite the pace," Albon reflected. "We haven't had many, if any, upgrades this season so far, so we've been on the back foot. We're pushing hard at the factory, everyone's working really hard...
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"Of course, there's a bit of a break right now, but time will tell. If we can get our first proper upgrade on the car when we come back, I think we can fight for points a bit more regularly. But for now, I think P13, P12 was all we could have done today," the Thai-British driver told the media after the Belgian Grand Prix.
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One major reason for this deficit in performance is the lack of upgrades being wheeled out from the factory in Grove. With the car still overweight, it's now vital that the FW46 sees an update after the Summer break comes to an end, especially as the likes of Haas and Alpine have seen their drivers shoot up the grid after a myriad of upgrades themselves.
"We haven't had many, if any, upgrades this season so far, so we've been on the back foot," Albon explained. The upcoming "first proper upgrade" represents a beacon of hope for the team which is in dire need of more points.
"Disappointing... I think we've been on the back foot from the very beginning. We were late with our car and we've been paying the price the whole season so far," Albon continued.
Fortunately for the team which just confirmed a multi-year contract with Carlos Sainz starting in 2025 replacing Logan Sargeant, it does seem as though upgrades are on the horizon.
"We're digging deep, I think we've got some good things in the future. At the same time, we've got some areas we need to work on. We'll use this break to look and really focus on the development not just for this year but especially for next year," the driver concluded.
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