Albon: Only Williams straight-line speed 'kept Norris behind'

Alex Albon says he owed his seventh-place finish in the Italian Grand Prix to his Williams' strong velocity down the straights at Monza that allowed him to remain ahead of McLaren's Lando Norris in the closing stages of the race.

After qualifying sixth on Saturday, Albon equaled on Sunday his season best, but the Williams charger had to work hard in the closing stages of the race and fend off Norris to earn his due.

Albon and Norris were separated by just 0.132s at the checkered flag, while Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso followed just a second behind.

Although Albon fully exploited his Williams W45's signature straight-line speed, the Anglo-Thai racer rued the car's lack of pace in Monza's few corners and especially through its final Parabolica curve while tyre degradation was also a factor in the 51-lap race.

• 2023 Italian Grand Prix - Race results

"It was tricky because we were really weak in the last corner," Albon told the media after the race.

"We were actually good through Ascari but slow in Turn 11 [the Parabolica] and they would always catch me up through there.

"The degradation was huge. Coming into the race, even on the laps to the grid we thought: ‘This is going to be a really tough race’.

"We didn't have the pace today, but we had the straight-line speed. It was what kept Lando behind. I think obviously he must be very frustrated. I would be.

"We just about did enough at Turn 1 on the brakes.

"Even though they have more downforce than us it's not a clean overtake for them. Every time they tried to out-brake me, they tended to go wide."

Good points scored in the last two races have allowed Williams to consolidate its seventh-place position in F1's Constructor's championship as the Grove-based squad now holds a ten-point advantage over Haas and eleven points over Alfa Romeo.

Although he thinks that his team has made a step forward, Albon suggested that the upcoming string of flyaway events will prove challenging for Williams.

"I think it’s a good step," he said. "But I worry about tracks like Brazil and these kind of races.

"We’re in a better place. We needed that because I don't think the next few races we're not really going to stand a chance until Vegas.

"So not to say that we're going to take our foot off the pedal, but a good finish here is what we needed."

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