Albon “leaning more towards” Colapinto’s F1 set-up for Mexico

Alex Albon will ‘lean towards’ using Franco Colapinto’s set-up at the Mexican Grand Prix as he looks for a more harmonious balance with his upgraded Williams Formula 1 car.

Williams introduced a comprehensive series of upgrades for the Dutch Grand Prix at the end of August, which Albon used to good effect at the Monza and Baku races by scoring points in both.

Since Colapinto was promoted to the line-up in place of Logan Sargeant, Albon suggested that his own side of the garage had perhaps struggled to get its head around the new upgrade package in comparison to Colapinto’s engineers.

The Anglo-Thai driver will move towards Colapinto’s set-up for this weekend to determine if it alleviates his issues, particularly in lower-speed corners.

“We definitely have a different car balance with the new upgrades that we brought onto the car, we’re still yet to really fully understand them,” Albon explained.

“We can see it in the data, we can see where we’re just trying to get to grips with what’s going on. 

“This will be the first weekend where I’m just kind of leaning a little bit more towards what the other side of the garage has been doing and just trying to see if that will help fix some of the issues that I’ve been having. 

Franco Colapinto, Williams FW46

Photo by: Glenn Dunbar / Motorsport Images

“I think actually around Mexico it’s going to be really important for us to try to get right because, on paper, the areas I’ve been struggling with are very corner-specific, and they’re corners that Mexico has a lot of, these kind of low-speed corners.”

Asked if the brake locking issue he had struggled with was a new issue with the upgrades, Albon explained that it had “become more apparent, so that’s kind of close to the area I’ve been working on”.

He added that it was “nice” to have a stronger team-mate in the second car to help fill in any performance shortfalls, and offered a reference point for set-ups for the team to compare.

Albon noted that Colapinto’s ability to score in Austin with 10th place “elevates everyone”, but stressed that the challenge provided by the Argentine was not a new experience.

“We’ve had the simulator working over the weekend – just trying to, over the last few days, have a look at the differences,” he said.

“But it elevates me, it elevates everyone in the team. When I have a bad weekend, we’re still scoring points, so that’s very positive.

“No [it’s not a new experience], I think if you go back a few more years, you can [see I’ve had pressure].

“At Williams, sure, but it’s how it’s always been. It’s how you race since you’re nine years old. So, it’s alright.”