Albon reputation could take a hit in 2025 – Juncadella
Jan.20 (GMM) Alex Albon’s latest reputation as one of Formula 1’s top drivers could take a hit in 2025.
That’s the view of Spanish racer Dani Juncadella, who is Aston Martin’s newest Formula 1 simulator driver. The 33-year-old says Albon is facing a potentially very difficult season now that Carlos Sainz will be his teammate at Williams.
“I’ve always been a bit more critical of Albon than people in general are,” Juncadella told the Duralavita podcast.
“I was with him the year he raced in the DTM, which was a very bad year for him because Liam Lawson destroyed him. In fact, you could see that he didn’t even want to be there.”
British-born Thai driver Albon, 28, competed in the German touring car series in 2021, after losing his Formula 1 seat at Red Bull Racing at the end of 2020.
He then returned to F1 with Williams in 2022.
Juncadella says: “Maybe his head was 100 percent focused on Formula 1 and returning to Formula 1 and he didn’t even want to be there (in DTM) on those weekends.
“But unfortunately I now have a rather negative image of Albon, from what I’m experienced with him, and from what I’ve seen from the outside.
“I don’t like the word overrated, but I’ve always considered him that way internally in my head. I’m looking forward to seeing what happens this year with Sainz at his side – a driver who is going to get on his nerves a bit and who comes with a massive background behind him.
“This year will tell us everything,” Juncadella added.
Indeed, since returning to F1 with Williams, Albon’s teammates at the lower-midfield team have been Nicholas Latifi, Logan Sargeant, and rookies Nyck de Vries and Franco Colapinto.
1997 world champion Jacques Villeneuve admits that, like Juncadella, he is looking forward to seeing the Sainz-Albon pairing in action this year.
“I’m curious to see Sainz with Williams,” said the Canadian. “His first tests were impressive because the car went faster than it had been before. And he’s generally been a team builder everywhere he’s been.
“So in a team that really needs it, let’s see what the effect is. It could be an amazing step forward which is the biggest surprise of the year.”
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