Williams recruit Alex Albon says he's feeling like a genuine "team leader" at the British squad for which he scored its first championship point of the 2022 season last weekend in Melbourne.
Albon started his Australian Grand Prix dead last, which encouraged Williams to opt for a bold tyre strategy that saw the Anglo-Thai charger launch his race on the hard compound and undertake his mandatory swap - for a set of softs - on the penultimate lap of the race!
The odd scheme worked like a charm, even to his own team's astonishment.
But Albon had to work hard to earn his and his outfit's solitary point, as there was little to separate Williams' FW43 from the machines of fellow midfield rivals Alfa Romeo and Haas in the first half of the 58-lap event.
"It's almost frustratingly close for us, because it seems like Alfa and Haas have made that step up and they've joined the midfield battle," explained Albon, speaking to the F1 Nation podcast.
"We're not further away from the front than in previous years, it's just that those guys have joined the pack and so it almost looks like we're struggling, but Alfa and Haas have done a great job."
Albon said that he actually enjoyed his battle around Albert Park with his Alfa and Haas adversaries
"It was nice to mix it [with them] and when I was in that group of cars, I guess part of me was mostly looking in my rearview mirrors.
"But then, very quickly, I was losing them and I was pulling away from them," he said. "And I was like: 'Oh, okay, here we go. We're gapping them!'. It was really good."
After three races, and as he continues to settle in with Williams, Albon clearly has the measure of his teammate Nicholas Latifi which, coupled with his results, has made him feel like a team leader for the first time in F1.
"It's a different position than I was in with Red Bull and I feel, more than anything, like I am a bit more of a team leader," he said.
"I feel like I have to use my experience in the best way possible and develop the car with Nicky. I guess I feel like I've had a year to mature. I don't think I could have done that in 2020 or 2019.
"I feel like I'm in a better position now. So I am enjoying it. It's a new challenge for me."
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