After a year as a spectator, Alexander Albon will step out of Red Bull orbit in 2022 to join Williams in place of George Russell, who will make the leap to Mercedes.
However, team principal Jost Capito said newcomer and confirmed Nicholas Latifi will have the same opportunities to help the team make further progress.
Both have in fact completed two seasons in Formula 1, with Latifi having 39 Grands Prix and Albon 38 under his belt.
“Of course, it’s good for both of us,” Capito said. “I think it’s great for Alex to have this second chance to come back and try to grow the team.”
“He doesn’t come along and say, ‘Okay, I want to win races.’ It’s clear he has to grow the team along with Nicholas, the engineers and all of us at Grove. And he seems to like this role. He works very well with Nicholas.”
“We don’t have a number one and a number two, they are both treated exactly the same. And Nicholas can put his mark on it, no question.”
Nicholas Latifi, Williams
Photo by: Williams F1
Capito believes Latifi made good progress in 2021, although the Canadian was inevitably overshadowed by Russell.
“Nicholas did a good job this year. When you look at all the qualifying results, some don’t show he could have done better than George.”
“And if we look at the gaps, they have never been really great. And of course, it’s a great challenge to have a teammate like George. He has done really well and has improved a lot this season.”
“So I’m sure he can get even better, because it was only his second season. And the first was really weird because of COVID.”
“Then there were a lot of new circuits this year too, so he did a brilliant job if we build on that.”
Capito explained that the relationship between Albon and Latifi has been consolidated in Formula 2 and believes this can be an advantage for the team.
“Alex and Nicholas were teammates in 2018. So they know and respect each other a lot,” he added. “They are personal friends and I think Alex is perfect for the team in the situation he is in now.”
“For Alex I think it’s a great second chance and I’m sure he will adapt well to our environment. We will have a lot of fun with him, and he too with us. And I’m sure he will behave very well.”
As for the outgoing Russell, Capito added: “George is a great leader and a rough diamond wouldn’t be able to. So he’s already a polished diamond.”
“And it’s not at its best yet, I think it can improve further. But already as it is now it represents a huge asset for every team. And it has been the same for us too.”
“On the one hand, we are sad to see him leave. But that was to be expected and we supported him to give him this chance. We are very happy that he can have it.
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