READ: Alex's words at the Miami Fan Zone
See what Albono had to say when he visited the Williams Racing Miami Fan Zone
Published
02 May 2024
Est Reading Time
4 min
The start of the season so far…
“It's been tough. We haven't had it easy. We felt like this year so far we're just lacking a little bit of pace. It's not much. It's like two or three tenths, but, realistically, that's what we need to get points.
“You look at it last year, we were in a very similar position. This year's kind of the same where we're waiting on the upgrades and updates to the car to really get us into contention for consistent points. This weekend we have a few things which are going to go in the right direction. So, I am fairly optimistic.”
What to look out for this weekend in Miami…
“It's a very odd track. The tarmac here is very strange, so it's kind of unique to anywhere else we go on the calendar. If you go slightly off line, there's absolutely zero grip. So it makes it difficult to find the limit.
“There's almost an unknown of where the grip is. And if you go a bit beyond you can spin almost instantly, so it is very difficult. The track's super hot, so the tyre wear is pretty tough.
“It's actually one of the most physical tracks of the year as well because of the heat. I enjoy the track, though - it's about just trying to make the most of what you've got. We've only got one session now being a sprint race this weekend, so we just need to get on top of it as early as we can.”
What people don’t always see…
“I found it very interesting this year because last year when you had a good race, you could show for it.
“You would finish in the points and it would be a demonstration to the world or to everyone that we did a good job. Whereas this year, because we've slightly been a bit behind, a P12 or P13 doesn’t look as good, but the execution of the race has been very good.
“It's interesting how the result and the perception of the result can be slightly different. Sometimes you can have a great weekend but no one really sees that.”
Advice to become a Formula 1 driver…
“I would say firstly, you need to really enjoy it. When you really love something, when you really find the passion for it, all the hard work that comes around it is easy.
“I spent a lot of time at school. I didn't really realise until now, until I'm in Formula 1 how much that meant to me. Nowadays in F1, the technology is so important to understand, so a good education gives you that advantage.
“The other thing I found was it was really important to learn how to speak to people. Being able to communicate and get sponsors is a really big part of becoming a Formula 1 driver, which I think people don't realise.”
Relationship with the Mechanics…
“We often spend more time with the engineers than we do with the mechanics, but it's really important for us to spend as much time as we can with them. They're the backbone of the team and you form a very close connection with them.
“People look at Formula 1 and they see probably just the engineering side and the driving side, but there's so much more you can do if you want to be a part of F1. If you want to be involved in any way, there is always an avenue to go down.”
Love for Valentino Rossi…
“I am a huge fan of Valentino Rossi. I'm big into road bike racing. When I was a kid my car number was always 46, so I was a huge fan. I remember when I was seven years old watching Valentino on TV he was the craziest rider out there. He would win all the races and just had the most amazing celebrations.”
Pre-race superstitions…
“So I'm very superstitious. I used to be, especially because I'm half Thai. I think Thai people generally are very superstitious. So in the beginning, I had a lot of rituals, and I made it important to do things which I thought were unlucky to prove to myself that they weren't needed.
“So to this point, now I have no rituals. I'd say I do have a warm up routine. There is one thing - I get into the car on the left hand side. So, sometimes that's kind of awkward because we'll be at a street track and the car's against the wall so I have to try and squeeze through.”
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