The Anglo-Thai driver arrived at Albert Park with a three-place penalty after taking out Lance Stroll in the Jeddah race, but eventually had to start from last on the grid because his car did not have enough fuel to get there. pitted when he stopped on track at the end of Q1.
Williams made the decision for Albon to start the race on hard tires and the driver provided a major upset after completing 57 of the 58 laps on the compound, gaining track position by staying out during multiple safety car and VSC periods. .
He came to seventh place, keeping Esteban Ocon’s Alpine at bay, before pitting on the penultimate lap to carry out the tire change required by the regulations.
His switch to softer rubber allowed Ocon , Valtteri Bottas and Pierre Gasly to overtake him, but Albon had built up enough of a lead over Guanyu Zhou to finish tenth and score his first point of the season.
The Thai explained that he had taken care of his compounds at the beginning of the race, because “when you start last, you can afford to do it”, something that allowed him to improve his pace as the laps went by.
“[The tire] just felt better and better, and the last 25 laps were like qualifying laps,” Albon said when asked about it by Motorsport.com.
“Obviously it was completely unexpected, but it really gives value to all the work that has been done in the factory and on the track. This is as far as our determination and motivation has taken us, it has been an incredible day and I am glad that we were able to achieve this result. for the team.”
Albon admits he was “surprised” when, after the VSC caused by Max Verstappen, he was not gobbled up by the drivers behind, but his pace through the final stage proved Williams’ strategy was correct.
“I was like, ‘OK, they know something I don’t.’ One of the Haas pulled away in front of me and right then and there I was like, ‘OK, now it’s going to be a tough race, because that DRS was saving me.'”
“But once we got clean air we just went, we had much older tires than the drivers around us, but we kept more or less on the same pace as the McLarens and moving away from the Alpines .”
“What’s interesting is that the C2 tires really suit our car better. We almost have to understand why, because it’s a bit unexpected.
Albon added that the result “feels just as good” as his two podium finishes with Red Bull at the Tuscan and Bahrain grands prix in 2020 after a very difficult start to the season for Williams .
“It’s a much-needed result. I feel like when you get off to such a rough start, you want to change that dynamic and be positive with what you’re doing.”
“But it’s difficult when you don’t get good results, it’s a difficult moment, but it motivates me and motivates the team to get those points. And now we’re hungry for more,” he concluded.
