Williams could stick with Alexander Albon for a number of years to come and build around the Thai-British driver, according to team boss James Vowles.
Albon joined Williams in 2022 after a handful of years as part of the Red Bull stable and secured a multi-year extension to be retained for 2023 and beyond.
The 27-year-old has scored all seven points for Williams so far this year, elevating it to ninth in the Constructors’ Championship over AlphaTauri.
Last time out at the Canadian Grand Prix, Albon starred to seventh place in the race as he successfully executed a one-stop strategy while holding off rivals behind him.
After starting from ninth, Albon pitted on lap 12 of the race, swapping his Medium tyres for Hards which he preserved for the remainder of the grand prix.
Speaking on an upcoming episode of the Beyond The Grid podcast, Vowles hailed Albon’s attitude and performance in Montreal.
“There’s no ego,” he said. “He’s a funny chap. I called him to explain to him that it was a drive of champions.
“I’ve worked with a good number of them and it really was.
“He didn’t put a foot wrong at a point where he was under pressure from four incredibly fast-charging cars behind on tyres that were in a much better state than his.
“Some of the work that he was doing, repositioning his car on the exit of Turn 10 and a few other corners was very clever.
“He recognises that. He knows that, he’s not someone that’s going to go and boast about it to the world. But to me, that was a drive of champions that he did.
“He’s definitely bringing the car to the limit of its performance, which is what you’re looking for out of a driver.
“I think he’s very underrated and I’m incredibly happy that he’s here in our organisation today and here for a long time.”
When asked if he would consider building Williams’ future around Albon, Vowles said: “Yes. Yes, I would.
“He’s got leadership qualities to him. There are areas where he and I talk about where I think he can do more in certain areas.
“But he’s got what it takes to bring us forward as an organisation. Certainly the future, from where I am at the moment, I hope that he’s very much a part of it.”
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