Alex Albon bemoaned missing out on the chance to bag points in Formula 1’s Australian Grand Prix as Williams ended up in “no man’s land” with severe tyre graining.
The Anglo-Thai driver was the sole competing Williams as his crash in FP1 and the absence of a spare chassis resulted in team-mate Logan Sargeant being withdrawn.
Despite three drivers from the top five teams failing to reach the chequered flag, Albon brought his Williams car home in 11th place as points evaded the team once more.
Instead, Haas capitalised on the retirements ahead to land a double points finish, with Yuki Tsunoda classified seventh to get his RB squad up and running this season.
When asked about how he felt to be on the fringes of the top 10 in Melbourne, Albon said it was even “more frustrating” as the Grove-based side’s rivals took advantage.
“We need these races. When you have three cars of the top teams retiring, you’ve got to capitalize on that,” Albon said.
“Unfortunately, we didn’t have the pace on the track that we hoped we would have. It’s been a tough weekend for all of us at Williams.”
The 28-year-old also thinks that his team needs to figure out why the tyre graining heavily affected the car’s performance during the race, leaving him in “no man’s land”.
Albon explained that his only chance to match the pace of the cars ahead was through “destroying” his own rubber, which was compounded through an unideal set-up.
“I think pitting early was just disguising our lack of pace,” he explained.
We were trying to stay in the race by pitting early and getting back to track position, and ultimately, the pace was too strong.
“Every time I tried to match the pace of the cars around me, I would break.
“Because of that reason, we had to set up the car to have an inefficient balance, really. We were putting so much front into the car, just trying to stop the front from sliding.
“At some point, the balance is just terrible. You’re sliding on the rears, but the front is still graining. You’re kind of in this awkward feeling.”
Albon believed that with more extensive long-run simulation during his limited free practice sessions, he could have “protected the tyres from graining a little bit more.”
Asked about Carlos Sainz’s win two weeks on from an operation, Albon, who also dealt with appendicitis in 2022, revealed he’d had “a lot of communication” with the Spaniard.
“I was in his garage on Thursday trying to give him some tips on how to make the seat a bit more comfortable. It’s been a great effort,” he commended.
“People also forget, you’re not just going through an operation, but you’re actually not training for a good two weeks. So you end up genuinely just down on fitness.
“I can tell you for sure he wasn’t comfortable in the car. The first couple of laps, when I remember looking back at it, it does feel strange.
“You feel everything moving inside, and it’s not that pleasant. I’m not sure the human body is designed to pull the 5-6G with something loose inside.”
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