Albon took risk with tyre performance for Bahrain GP points

Alex Albon pushed harder than he wanted and risked damaging his tyres as he fought his way to 10th place for Williams in the Formula 1 Bahrain Grand Prix.

Alex Albon, Williams FW45, Pierre Gasly, Alpine A523

After testing, Williams was regarded even by Albon himself as the slowest team in the 2023 field. However, over the race weekend the conditions, including a lack of wind, appeared to favour the car.

Albon sailed through Q1 in ninth place and was then left frustrated after front wing damage meant he couldn’t progress further, leaving him to start 15th.

In the race he rose to ninth place when Charles Leclerc stopped on track and triggered a VSC.

Albon pitted for tyres but only had a used set of softs left, and so was unable to hold off Alpine’s Pierre Gasly, who was able to take a fresh set for the final stint.

"I was always fighting the whole race,” said Albon. “I was always pushing on out-laps. I was always having to push more than I wanted to, more than I should be doing to save the tyres.

“So for example, when Pierre was right behind me, I'm basically trying to save as much as I can. I know I'm damaging the tyres, I know I'm actually giving up performance later in the stint.

“But I have to do it just to keep him behind. He came at me so quickly. On the final one, I couldn't do anything. So to be fair, the fact that we're racing Alpines is a great sign.

“I had to use a used set on that final run. It helps when you have a new set, the warm-up and everything, you've got a bit more peak grip."

Alex Albon, Williams Racing FW45

Alex Albon, Williams Racing FW45

Photo by: Williams

Albon admitted he was racing cars he hadn’t expected to be able to fight with: "We had our elbows out. I enjoyed my overtake on Esteban [Ocon], I must say. But it was good. It was really fun out there."

Williams was running a low drag specification that gave Albon a boost on the straights, while making life harder for him in the corners.

"I had a very low downforce set-up this weekend," he said. "Even across the cars, we tried something. It was OK, it made it tricky out there, but we had the straightline speed and we knew it was going to be a racy car.

"We’ve seen it before in a few races last year. I felt like the last 10 laps was like every race last year. Nothing new."

Read Also:

Regarding future progress with the car, Albon added: "We need to assess our weaknesses, that’s the main thing. We know in terms of downforce level where there are advantages. We have kind of a different character to most people.

"We are slippery on the straights, and less quick on the corners. But we’re making it work, and I think we’ve got to do what’s good for our car right now.

"We still need to dial out some characteristic problems. That’s going to take possibly a little bit longer.

"But for now, the short term, we know where we can improve. There’s lap time there. We’re quick and stable."

shares
comments

Related video

Aston Martin's Bahrain F1 performance like Force India's in 2014 – Szafnauer

Haas went through tyres like "knife through butter" in Bahrain GP

Ranking the top 10 Benetton F1 drivers

Ranking the top 10 Benetton F1 drivers

Plus
Plus
Formula 1
Damien Smith

Ranking the top 10 Benetton F1 drivers Ranking the top 10 Benetton F1 drivers

When Mansell and Senna settled their differences in an F1 pitlane scuffle

When Mansell and Senna settled their differences in an F1 pitlane scuffle

Plus
Plus
Formula 1
Belgian GP
GP Racing

When Mansell and Senna settled their differences in an F1 pitlane scuffle When Mansell and Senna settled their differences in an F1 pitlane scuffle

The F1 treasure map where Hamilton hopes Mercedes hits gold

The F1 treasure map where Hamilton hopes Mercedes hits gold

Plus
Plus
Formula 1
Japanese GP
Jonathan Noble

The F1 treasure map where Hamilton hopes Mercedes hits gold The F1 treasure map where Hamilton hopes Mercedes hits gold

The two F1 rules problems Perez’s recent mishaps expose

The two F1 rules problems Perez’s recent mishaps expose

Plus
Plus
Formula 1
Japanese GP
Alex Kalinauckas

The two F1 rules problems Perez’s recent mishaps expose The two F1 rules problems Perez’s recent mishaps expose

How football has posed difficult questions for F1

How football has posed difficult questions for F1

Plus
Plus
Formula 1
GP Racing

How football has posed difficult questions for F1 How football has posed difficult questions for F1

The fans that offer a ray of light in an increasingly partisan F1

The fans that offer a ray of light in an increasingly partisan F1

Plus
Plus
Formula 1
Japanese GP
Jake Boxall-Legge

The fans that offer a ray of light in an increasingly partisan F1 The fans that offer a ray of light in an increasingly partisan F1

Japanese Grand Prix Driver Ratings 2023

Japanese Grand Prix Driver Ratings 2023

Plus
Plus
Formula 1
Japanese GP
Alex Kalinauckas

Japanese Grand Prix Driver Ratings 2023 Japanese Grand Prix Driver Ratings 2023

How Verstappen’s crushing Japanese GP win showed Singapore was a blip

How Verstappen’s crushing Japanese GP win showed Singapore was a blip

Plus
Plus
Formula 1
Japanese GP
Jake Boxall-Legge

How Verstappen’s crushing Japanese GP win showed Singapore was a blip How Verstappen’s crushing Japanese GP win showed Singapore was a blip

Subscribe