Alex Albon believes the improvement shown by Williams in the first race of the new season is bettered only by that of Aston Martin.
Fernando Alonso took the headlines at the Bahrain Grand Prix thanks to his excellent podium finish. Lance Stroll also finished sixth despite racing with pins in his broken wrist – further showing the speed of the AMR23.
But Williams were also impressively quick compared to how they finished the 2022 season. Albon's team finished rock bottom of the standings last year, but already they are off the mark in this campaign thanks to the British-Thai racer's 10th-placed finish.
As a result, Albon said said he is excited for what is to come in the 2023 season – but does not want to be overly optimistic. He told reporters: "It was actually a really tough race. The wind and everything made the cars much more disconnected.
"So, to have the pace that we had, under the circumstances, I have to say, I'm super proud. Everyone is, I'm sure, looking at Aston Martin right now on the podium and thinking what a step they've done, but we're second.
"If you look at us from last year to this year, in this position, 12 months on, I have to say, we've done an amazing job. Of course, we're reliable – it helps – but we've got points on that first race."
His team-mate Logan Sargeant finished 12th – outside the points, but still an encouraging signs for the team. Plus, on a personal level, he finished above the other rookies on the grid in his first F1 race.
Both of them improved after a qualifying session in which they both felt they could do better. Albon though he could make it to Q3 had he not picked up front wing damage, while Sargeant narrowly missed out on Q2 after recording an identical lap time to the one set by Lando Norris, though the McLaren driver progressed as he had done it first.
Albon added: "We qualified out of position, we should have qualified higher up in my opinion, it would have made our race a lot easier today. But you know, that's progress. I know we've got some stuff for the next couple of races that can really push us forward."
