Capito: Albon some way from reaching his peak in F1

After a year out, Albon returns to F1 with Williams alongside Nicholas Latifi.

The Thai driver was dropped at the end of 2020 by Red Bull after struggling up against Max Verstappen.

His year out wasn’t entirely wasted as he spent the season as Red Bull’s reserve and test driver, spending a considerable amount of time in the simulator in a bid to aid Verstappen’s title chances against Lewis Hamilton.

With only 38 races under his belt, Capito thinks Albon is still some way off from reaching his peak in F1.

“I think he stayed race fit in general because he also was a reserve driver, a lot of time in the sim, and the race practice he had in DTM,” Jost said after the launch of the FW44. “I believe he grew a lot through the year as he saw the racing from a different angle, and sees how hard it is, and that made him absolutely eager and determined to come back as a driver. I believe he is still a way from his peak.”

After a point-less year in 2020, Williams enjoyed a strong resurgence last year as it beat Alfa Romeo and Haas to eighth in the constructors’ championship.

Capito is hopeful the Albon-Latifi partnership can continue the good work of last year with George Russell as Williams looks to continue to move up the pecking order.

“I believe he can be much better, I believe his character and values really fit to Williams, when I see how he works in the sim, how he works with the engineers,” he added. “He seems to be a really happy guy, I build a good relationship with him, we talk very openly and I believe he feels home. And I believe if he feels home he will deliver great stuff on track as well.

“But we’ll see how he gets on with the car and how good the car is. Him and Nicky are very valuable in developing the car and bringing the car forwards in the season.”