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Alex Albon has insisted there is “a big drive, and a big want” from inside Williams as the team seeks what would be its best season for six years.
Running a car that has not been developed for months as James Vowles has shifted priorities following his arrival at the start of the year as team principal, Williams heads into the final race of the campaign holding onto seventh in the constructors’ standings.
In four of the previous five years, it has finished last of the 10 teams, with its only respite being eighth in 2021.
To claim seventh would be a significant achievement for Williams, which sits seven points clear of AlphaTauri, a team that has made strides since the arrival of an upgrade that has allowed it to score points in four of the last seven races.
After failing to score in last weekend’s Las Vegas Grand Prix, despite Albon and team-mate Logan Sargeant starting fifth and sixth on the grid, Albon insists that “points were not really on the cards”.
Albon added: “Of course, there was a hope and desire to try and score points to try and take that pressure off and that possibility (of being caught by AlphaTauri) away from this weekend, but because we haven’t scored points, the possibility is still very much real.
“In terms of finishing P7 or P8, we can say it doesn’t really affect us, but of course, we’re racers. Everyone’s a racer in the team, and we all care about what position we finish.
“That walk into the pit lane is a little bit too long at the minute, and one position already makes a difference, so let’s see.
“But it will help the team, it will speed up the development of the team as well. At the minute, Dorilton does put the cash in, and it would benefit everyone if they had to put in a bit less.
“So there’s a big drive, and a big want this weekend to finish in P7. It’s our number one priority coming into the weekend.
“At the same time, we’re pretty self-confident that we’ve done the right thing (with regard to not developing the car). We’ve talked about it enough, that we stopped development a long time ago now.
“And if we lose out on what we’re focusing on for next year, there’s not going to be a ‘kicking ourselves’ moment. I do think we’re going to see the rewards next year.”
With 28 points to its name, Williams has overachieved in many respects, leaving Albon to concede that bar one race, he and the team have maximised every opportunity when presented.
Declaring himself “proud” of what the team has achieved, he added: “We haven’t had a smooth race where we’ve gone ‘That was nice’. I wish we’d had more of them.
“Unfortunately, a lot of them we have held up a bunch of cars behind us, which is what we’ve become renowned for.
“The car has improved a lot from last year, we’re going into every weekend feeling like there’s a chance to score points.
“But even in that case, our race pace has not always been that great, and yet we still come away with points. I have to say that on reflection, I’ve had a lot of fun moments from this year.
“It also speaks to the fact that I think Melbourne was the only race where I felt like I missed an opportunity to score points.
“But every other race we’ve done this year, when there’s been a chance, we’ve done it and I think that’s been the main difference against our rivals.”
