Albon in staggering Williams 2024 car claim

Williams driver Alex Albon has revealed he began working on helping the team with next year's car in April.

The Thai-British driver has been the unsung hero of the field this season with a number of stunning drives, punctuated by a seventh-place finish at the Canadian Grand Prix.

The Grove-based outfit is on the road to recovery from a bleak run in the championship, aiming to become a regular in the midfield battle.

Aston Martin has jumped to third in the Constructors' standings from seventh last season whilst recent upgrades for McLaren have pushed the Woking-based squad up the pecking order.

Asked if McLaren's upturn provided optimism for Williams moving forward, Albon told RacingNews365 during an interview with invited media: "I think if you listen to Lando [Norris] and Oscar [Piastri's] comments, they're not saying that the car itself has improved in terms of their balance.

"They just say that there's a bit more downforce on the car.

"They've made a huge step in that sense but not in the way the car drives.

"That being said, I have started working on next year's car since April in the simulator and making sure we are changing the car characteristics to try and mitigate some of these constant balance issues we've been having for the last four or five years - that's been a big focus for next year."

Williams show ambition

A switch in focus towards the following season just one month into the season is a bold plan of action for the team, though Albon has insisted there is good reason for the plan.

"It shows the ambition of the team," added the former Red Bull driver.

"It shows where we think we need to improve and just doing upgrades through the year is not really going to get us to keep working towards that to get there.

"I think Aston Martin is a great example of designating time and focus and giving yourself a bit more of a buffer to improve your car and think more long term.

"This upgrade package we had on the car for Canada was already very close, by February, it was all in its window and being designed and, in some parts, being made.

"So the focus can go into next year. We don't have many upgrades coming this year. In fact, Canada was really our major one.

"So when you do it like that, you free up a lot more time to focus on next year's car and we don't want to be finishing eighth in the Constructors', we want to be finishing fifth, fourth, and that takes a big leap forward.

"The work that Aston Martin have done and McLaren have just done, it shows you that you have got to spend time.

"I don't think McLaren to their car from pre-Silverstone. They have just come in and hit the ground running.

"I find that quite interesting. It seems like the top teams are still doing micro-updates and the midfield teams are just putting in these big ones.

"A lot of that is due to the cost cap, but also, at least for the midfield teams, it seems more efficient to do it that way than the other way."