“A very frustrating end for the team after three weeks away from home,” was the phrase with which Dave Robson, head of performance at the Williams team, summed up the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
“This is not the time to celebrate anything, because for the second time this season, the cars of Alex Albon and Nicholas Latifi were unable to score points,” he added.
Albon spent almost his entire career behind Lance Stroll, with eleventh place between eyebrows to try to score the first point of the course. With three laps to go, the Thai tried to attack the Canadian driver inside the first corner, however, he collided with Stroll and caused him to spin.
Luck for Williams ‘s Thai was even worse, as he severely damaged his car and was forced to park after only a few metres, ending his race early.
“We were fighting for the points at the end of the race and I attacked Lance,” explained the Williams driver, who was held responsible for race management and suspended for the next round of the calendar in Australia.
“He defended his position strongly and unfortunately we both got stuck. I had to retire because of the puncture, but the points were close by, we had to go for them,” he added.
In Jeddah, Williams saw his two cars abandon in an accident. At the wheel of the second FW44, Latifi had already suffered a mishap in qualifying before hitting the wall again in the opening laps of the race.
Analyzing the behavior of Williams’ new car, Albon said it was a bit temperamental at times: “The balance of the car can be tricky but, in the right window, it works really well. We were quite quick at the end of the race, we just have to try to make it more consistent and predictable.
Williams will have the third opportunity to open her points locker next week in Australia. For the first time since 2019 (in 2020 it was canceled a few hours before its start), Formula 1 will play a grand prix in Melbourne, an Albert Park circuit that recently made changes to its layout.
