There have been combined fortunes for Williams within the Italian Grand Prix as Alex Albon walked away from Monza with a hatful of factors, whereas group mate Carlos Sainz was left annoyed by a troublesome afternoon that noticed contact and a battery concern derail his problem.
Following a troublesome Qualifying that noticed each automobiles exit in Q2, Williams opted to separate methods for Sunday’s Grand Prix – beginning Albon on the arduous tyre and Sainz on the mediums. The previous ran an extended opening stint, which noticed him climb up into the highest 10 and run as excessive as fifth at instances, mixing it with the main automobiles.
Even after he pitted, Albon managed to carry onto a factors paying place and was rewarded with seventh on the flag – ending because the lead midfield automotive.
“Incredible technique and nice automotive tempo, I feel these two collectively, you’re going to have a superb time of it,” Albon defined as he mirrored on his race.
“Actually… It was meant to be a troublesome race on paper however really we have been the primary arduous automotive as soon as everybody pitted. I don’t need to name it a simple race, however the automotive was very nice to drive. Probably the greatest Sundays balance-wise I’ve had all 12 months.
“It all the time appears once we run the low downforce automobiles, our steadiness improves as effectively. Many elements of that race we have been simply as fast as the highest groups. It was an excellent comeback from a troublesome Saturday.”
Albon’s factors maintain Williams away from Aston Martin within the struggle for fifth within the Teams’ Championship, whereas the Thai driver sits seventh within the Drivers’ standings – shifting forward of Kimi Antonelli within the Mercedes.
“It proves we’ve got a constant automotive, it has been one of many largest focus factors for us final 12 months and this 12 months,” Albon continued. “That’s proving to be working and even on the identical time, even when Saturdays are depressing we find yourself again within the factors, I don’t even understand how!
“I’ll maintain it going, I’m having fun with it and I’ll attempt to battle Kimi till Abu Dhabi.”
However whereas Albon was left overjoyed with how his race unfolded in Italy, the identical couldn’t be mentioned for his group mate. Sainz has endured greater than his justifiable share of unhealthy luck this season – and extra befell the Spaniard at Monza.
He began on the mediums – the identical technique as nearly all of the sphere – however a mixture of a battery concern and phone with Ollie Bearman’s Haas, noticed him come house in eleventh – which means he nonetheless has not scored in a Grand Prix since Canada again in June.
“We have been the final of the medium starters I feel and it was all the time going to be troublesome to make a comeback on the identical technique as everybody in entrance of me however we really prolonged the medium fairly a good distance and we have been doing a superb comeback on the arduous,” Sainz defined.
“Faster than Bearman in entrance, faster than Bortoleto, we have been going to start out passing at that stage however after I went for a transfer with Ollie, sadly we touched. That just about ruined my race, I obtained injury and yeah, not the best race.
“We additionally bumped into some battery points so a troublesome day within the workplace.”
Sainz has greater than as soon as this 12 months discovered himself within the incorrect place on the incorrect time – simply final week he was penalised after contact with Liam Lawson, he made contact with Charles Leclerc at Silverstone whereas brake and gearbox points prevented him even starting the race in Austria.
Sainz was requested what he can do to arrest his unhealthy luck, with the Spaniard replying: “Preserve pushing, like my Qualifying tempo is there, my race tempo is there so in some unspecified time in the future it’ll end. However, not going to lie, it’s beginning to get irritating and reasonably miserable.”
