McLaren CEO Zak Brown was on cloud nine at the Miami Grand Prix after watching Lando Norris achieve his maiden Formula 1 victory.
The young Brit had to wait 110 races before standing on the top step of the podium but the entire paddock appeared to be delighted for the McLaren star.
Zak Brown has been interviewed on the Beyond The Grid Podcast and as well as dishing out some praise to his own drivers, highlighted another racer on the grid who has impressed him.
Up and down the paddock, drivers and teams are considering their options for the future with more than half of the grid still not sure where they’ll be driving next year.
McLaren are one of the two teams who have officially confirmed their pairing for 2025 but that hasn’t stopped their CEO from keeping a close eye on how his rival’s drivers are performing.
Zak Brown was very quick to praise the ‘awesome’ job Williams Racing lead driver Alex Albon has done for the team.
The 28-year-old is another driver who is already tied down to a contract beyond the end of this season.
However, that might not stop him from considering his options if the right offer comes along.
READ MORE: Williams driver Alex Albon’s life outside F1 from net worth, girlfriend to parents
McLaren CEO Zak Brown full of praise for Williams star Alex Albon
Williams had a surprisingly strong 2023 campaign that saw them finish above AlphaTauri, Alfa Romeo and Haas in the Constructors’ Championship.
That was almost single-handedly down to the work of Alex Albon, who scored all but one of the team’s points throughout the season.
His performances in Montreal, Zandvoort and Monza stand out alongside the points he scored in the Sprint Race in Qatar.
While Logan Sargeant has consistently underperformed, Albon has been pushing his Williams car to the limit – and sometimes beyond it – ever since joining the team in 2022.
In Australia, his wrecked chassis gave team principal James Vowles a decision to make without a spare and Sargeant’s race weekend was sacrificed for Albon, showing how important he is to the team.
Brown has been talking about how impressed with Albon he’s been since he joined Williams after a difficult spell at Red Bull.
With new regulations on the horizon in 2026, it wouldn’t be a surprise for teams to target Albon if they want to hit the ground running with their new cars.
READ MORE: Everything you need to know about McLaren F1 Team from team principal to engine
Alex Albon could be one of Formula 1’s hottest properties
Talking about the Thai driver, Brown said: “I look at someone like Alex Albon, he’s done an awesome job and kind of rejuvenated his career at Williams which is great to see because clearly, he’s an awesome driver.
“Everyone thought he was an awesome driver, it didn’t work out at Red Bull for a variety of reasons but he’s come back and that’s kind of hard once you’ve mentally been released from a team or not had success.
“To recover from that takes a lot of strength.”
Albon is a seriously talented driver and as Brown suggests, has done a seriously good improving his reputation during his time at Williams.
He’s contracted until the end of 2025 but several teams are already interested in his services.
Audi team principal Andreas Seidl is understood to ‘rate’ Albon and they still have a seat to fill at Sauber ahead of next season.
Albon has been suggested as a potential team leader at Red Bull should Max Verstappen decide to join Mercedes.
There’s even been a suggestion that Mercedes might buy out his contract if they decide Andrea Kimi Antonelli isn’t ready for Formula 1 next year.
F1Oversteer has previously reported that Albon is in discussions over his future due to the options being presented to him.
For now, all he’ll want is to end his wait to score his first points of the season in Imola.
The post ‘He’s an awesome driver’: McLaren boss Zak Brown hails 0-point F1 rival who has ‘rejuvenated his career’ appeared first on F1 Oversteer.
