Albon urges Williams to find out why Barcelona is “such a challenge for us”
On the back of a tough race for Williams at last Sunday's Spanish Grand Prix, Alexander Albon has urged the Grove-based outfit to figure out why their F1 cars do not excel at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.
Williams had arrived at Barcelona with low expectations as they had expected their FW47 to struggle on a circuit which traditionally exposes their cars in recent years.
The qualifying session saw Carlos Sainz get knocked out in Q1 while his team-mate Alexander Albon failed to progress into the final segment. The race then turned out to be a tough afternoon for Williams.
Albon had contact at the start and was forced wide. The Thai driver did not only lose several places, but he was also forced to pit for a new front wing. He had a further contact later on as he collided with Racing Bulls driver Liam Lawson.
The incident resulted in another front wing damage for Albon and he was also handed a 10-second penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage. After serving his penalty, he elected to retire from the race.
His team-mate also had contact on the first lap which led to front wing damage. With his damage having been a smaller one, Sainz refused to pit for a new wing, but he lost performance as a result of it.
Although he finished the race, he failed to score any points at his home race where he has always finished in the points since the start of his F1 career.
Reflecting on his home race at Barcelona, Albon stated that he was simply unfortunate as he was unable to avoid the cars at Turn 1 on the opening lap.
“We lost out quite heavily at the beginning and were on the back foot into Turn 1. The cars ahead were avoiding each other, and I was the one to get hit, so we were forced onto a three-stop strategy to replace my front wing.
“I tried my best to stay out of the way in each incident, but we ended up with damage both times. We need to look at this track and understand why it’s such a challenge for us.
Signing off with a word for the future, Albon stressed that Williams will need to investigate the reason why their F1 cars do not want to produce the performance level at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya than at many other tracks.
“I want us to be a top team, and it’s important to put the car to the test at tracks like this so we can learn valuable lessons and optimise our car for the future.
“Overall, I feel like I’m in a good rhythm with the car and I’m looking forward to Canada,” concluded the Thai driver.
