Alex Albon was delighted after having won a good sixth place at the Belgian Grand Prix, after a solid race where he was able to contain the constant pressure of Lewis Hamilton. The Thai pilot was able to get the most out of his Williams on the Spa-Francorchamps layout, Maked big points for his team.
However, the weekend was halftone for Williams : Carlos Sainz, however efficient in the Sprint race where he had scored points, finished a nightmarish Sunday in 18th place, after having launched himself from the path of the stands.
A sixth place for Alex Albon
Alex Albon, who had himself struggled with a modest 16th place, resumed well thanks to a convincing qualification on Saturday afternoon, allowing him to start in fifth position on the grid. He certainly lost a place against George Russell in the first wet turns, but he was able to keep an excellent sixth position to the checkered flag. He notably resisted a long attack by Lewis Hamilton, yet armed with the DRS and an effective Ferrari on the racing pace.
“Very happy. It was not easy to hold Lewis behind, he put pressure on me for a good part of the race ”said Alex Albon.
“A little frustrated to have lost a position against George, but to be honest, we suffered a little more in the wet than in the dry. Once the slick tires were fitted, it was better. »»
“We finish with approximately 12 seconds ahead of the next car of the peloton, which shows that our package was working this weekend. Very satisfied. »»
With this result, Alex Albon signs his best ranking since Imola. He now has scored points in nine of the ten races he has finished this seasonending a difficult series of three consecutive abandonments in Spain, Canada and Austria.
“It proves that if we had finished all the shopping, we would probably have marked each time. It is a very good dynamic to have. »»
“It shows that the DNA of the car is constant, that we have not only peaks of performance. I think we are the most regular team in the middle of the grid. We can approach every weekend by targeting the points, as long as we see the arrival. »»
Thanks to these points, Williams consolidates its fifth place in the manufacturers’ rankingwith a more comfortable mattress on the rest of the peloton.
A Sunday to forget for Carlos Sainz
For his part, Carlos Sainz experienced a much more complicated race. After having opted for a departure from the stands to replace engine elements and correct a concern detected on the car, the Spanish pilot could never go up and finished far, in 18th position.
“Basically, our weekend was played in bad qualifiers yesterday”he said. “After analysis, we saw that we had gone in the wrong direction with the settings, which cost me a lot in qualifying. »»
“We also discovered an anomaly on the car during the weekend, so we decided to leave from the stands to correct it, modify the set-up and mount a rear fin in prediction of the wet. Finally, the track remained dry, and we could not progress. »»
Like others, Carlos Sainz has bet on a set-up unsuitable for real conditions, in a very uncertain weather context. But beyond this episode, the Spaniard confesses a real frustration in front of a sawtooth season.
“I don’t know if it’s a matter of time, or if I have to consider a more radical change to try to better connect with the car”he launched. “We made a super sprint, a super qualifying for the sprint, a very good tour in Q1, and suddenly everything collapses. »»
“Each weekend is a different problem, so there is not really a clear diagram. We will continue to work hard and see what we can do in Hungary ”he concludes.
