Albon feels lucky British GP didn't last 'one more lap'

Alex Albon reckons he would have likely lost his eighth-place finish in the British Grand Prix to Ferrari's Charles Leclerc had the race lasted just "one more lap".

The Williams charger capped off a remarkable weekend with a top-ten result that followed his strong P8 performance in qualifying.

Although he lost a position at the start, Albon took full advantage of the race's late Safety Car to make a timely switch from the medium to the soft compound tyre, which helped him overhaul Carlos Sainz and keep Leclerc behind.

"It feels like when you think about the speed of the car, P8 has been the worst position of the free practices and qualifying and race," commented the 27-year-old as he described his productive afternoon.

"So, it just shows… We expected the race to be a bit more difficult with Fernando [Alonso] and Checo [Perez] behind us.

"Struggled a little bit at the start. In fact, there was a bit of cement from the Porsches. And I don’t know… I don’t know if that was the reason why, but I didn’t have much grip at the start.

"And then for most of the race, we were okay. We were actually feeling quite good with the car. I have to say that Safety Car came out in a perfect, perfect time.

"So as we boxed in, and obviously had a restart, kind of licking my lips a little bit. And yeah, you know, the Ferraris were, I guess, on the harder compounds. Was able to get past Carlos.

"And then it was a tricky race. Had better pace than Fernando, which was a bit of a surprise. But then Charles was coming quite quickly at the end.

"So it was a race of forwards and backwards… One eye forward, one eye back. Yeah, it became a bit of a dogfight. I wouldn’t have wanted that race to last one more lap."

• Read also: F1i's Driver Ratings for the 2023 British GP

While he managed to fend off Leclerc and finish hot on the heels of Alonso, Albon believes he would have been forced to succumb to the Ferrari driver has the race counted 53 laps.

"I think Charles would have got past, but I do think… If it was one lap Charles would have got past, if it was two laps Charles would have got past both of us," he speculated.

"And I would have got past Fernando! That’s my theory!"

As impressive as was Williams' display at Silverstone, Albon believes that the track's high-speed layout catered to the FW45's specific qualities while the cooler conditions that prevailed on Sunday were also a benefit.

"I think our highs and lows are quite easy to predict," he explained. "And maybe, I don’t know if McLaren could have predicted their pace this weekend. But I think we can.

"It’s quite clear that tracks where there’s a bit lower downforce and a lot of full-throttle time – that’s all us. That’s how we like it.

"So it’s also important that the track remains quite cool. Which today the track temp was dropping at the end of the race, which made us a bit more competitive.

"And also not much braking, the less braking the better for us. So Silverstone works out quite well for that."

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