New car regulations favouring aggressive drivers: Albon

Atlassian Williams driver Alexander Albon feels the new car regulations suit drivers with a more aggressive driving style.

Speaking ahead of the Bahrain GP, to be held in Sepang, Malaysia, this weekend, Albon reckoned it is one reason championship leader Andrea Kimi Antonelli has excelled so far, despite it being just his second year in the sport.

“The cars themselves are a lot smaller. Basically, I think a lot of the drivers push entries, so if you think famously, someone like Lewis (Hamilton) and I think Kimi does a very similar thing. They are being rewarded because the rear tyres are not as strong this year as they were in previous years, relative to the front tyres,” explained Albon.

The other main challenge has been battery deployment, and Albon revealed it has taken time for him to adapt.

“A lot of the deployment is down to the drivers, the way the driver downshifts and upshifts, also the way the driver brakes. The biggest factor is how the driver uses the throttle. At first, when it was changed, it was very difficult to understand. It was very against my personal driving style. And so, over time — we are in October now — I have only just started to feel natural driving a car, which is a lot longer than it takes,” added the Thai-British driver.

Williams, which finished fifth in 2025, has struggled so far, sitting ninth in the standings, and Albon said the team is focused on next year.

“All the simulator work that we’re doing behind the scenes is now focused on next year. And generally, the language which the whole team speaks is more about next year’s car. So sometimes you need to take one step back in many ways or hold some of the development back to make sure that you make a bigger step later on,” said Albon.