Alexander Albon believes the nature of Formula 1’s rules reset will help nullify the impact of his year on the sidelines.
Albon is returning to a Formula 1 race seat with Williams, having spent 2021 in a test/reserve role with Red Bull, following two seasons on the grid in 2019/20.
Drivers who previously spent time out of a seat – most recently Esteban Ocon (2019) and Fernando Alonso (2019/20) – have conceded to requiring additional time to get up to speed.
But Albon is hopeful that the overhaul of the regulations will negate some of the drawbacks of his year out.
“I think the one thing that will take a little bit of time to get used to is purely the lack of laps,”said Albon.
“I think if you look at it from Esteban and Fernando, it did take a little bit of time for them to shake off the rust let’s say. These cars are tricky to drive especially on the limit.
“I think with the reset though it actually works out pretty well for me. There’s that element of everyone starting from a clean slate so the playing field is more even.
“Inevitably there will still be that time where I need to use the six days of testing officially on my side more than anything else to really get comfortable with the car, as comfortable as I can do ready for the season.”
Albon is optimistic that he can draw on some experience from his stint at Red Bull but is conscious of the need to adapt to Williams’ requirements.
“Of course, I am going to give everything that I know but at the same time I am not an aerodynamicist, I don’t know what the rear wing looks like on the RB18 or anything like that,” he said.
“I just know the feeling of it. The simulator is quite simple. You’ve got two wheels on the front of it and you’re inside a monocoque.
“It’s hard in that sense but I think what I will bring to Williams is the way that they [Red Bull] work and the way they go about their business more than anything else.
“On top of that, cars have characteristics, even if the rules change as much as they do from last year to this year, they always tend to keep their slight subtleties within the cars. It’s quite a normal thing to happen.
“I have a good feeling why the Red Bull was fast and know how they exploited the lap time out of the car and at the same time, I know why the Williams was quick in some places and I can see how these things fold themselves out.
“It’s that balance of trying to use that knowledge that I do have to try and make us more competitive.”
