Williams driver Alexander Albon did everything he could to secure his top ten finish in the opening race in Bahrain. As a result, he put more pressure on himself during the race than he actually wanted. He also took a big risk with his tire management, but in the end it paid off in tenth position.
After winter testing, Williams was seen as the slowest team on the grid. Even driver Albon shared this opinion, so not much was expected from the British team in the run-up to the Bahrain Grand Prix. Nevertheless, the FW45 turned out to perform better than expected, despite a disappointing qualifying session in which Albon’s car failed to get past Q2 due to problems with the front wing.
During the race he fought his way forward from 15th on the grid, eventually moving up to ninth after the retirement of Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc and a fine overtake on Esteban Ocon. After a pit stop in which the Thai-British driver only had used soft tires left, it became difficult to keep behind Alpine driver Pierre Gasly, who did have new tires under his car.
Nevertheless, Albon has done everything possible to keep his place in the points. “I gave it my all the entire race,” says the 26-year-old. “Even when I knew Gasly was close behind me and I was wearing out my tyres, I had to keep fighting for it, even though I knew it would affect the performance of my tires later on.”
Albon enjoyed Bahrain: ‘It felt really good’
In the end, the Willliams driver was unable to keep Gasly behind, but he did ensure that he took home a world championship point. “The fact that we can fight with an Alpine on track is already a good sign,” says a happy Albon, who is satisfied with his performance in Bahrain. “I really had a good time, especially my overtake on Ocon felt good.”
Looking to the future, Albon now expects a bit more from the car than he did before the race weekend. “We have to take a good look at where our weaknesses lie,” says the Williams driver, “but above all we have to do what is right for our car now.” According to the young Briton, there is certainly a chance that the car can improve in the short term. “At least we’re fast and stable.”
