Alex Albon pulled off one of the standout performances of the Dutch Grand Prix, charging from the lower tier of the grid to grab fifth place and a vital haul of points for Williams at the checkered flag.
Zandvoort, notorious for its tight corners and overtaking challenges, seemed like a daunting prospect for Albon after a lackluster qualifying left him in 15th position on the grid.
But a blistering opening lap combined with the Williams FW47’s strong race enabled the British-Thai racer to match his best result of the season at the end of the day.
“We had a really good launch, made a position off the line and then made two more positions into Turn 1, two more into Turn 3 and then we were immediately in the race,” Albon beamed post-race.
From there, the Williams driver was on a charge, and he smartly positioned himself to capitalize on the chaos unfolding ahead. Albon admitted the drama around him only boosted his impressive run up the order.
©Williams
“I think looking at strategy, it was always going to look like a one-stop and a pretty boring race but we had the start to put us into good contention for a points finish,” he explained.
As incidents piled up among the front-runners, Albon kept his cool, steering clear of trouble and letting his race pace do the talking.
“It just seemed like, summer break happened and everyone got a little bit excited on the first race back,” he chuckled.
“On my side, I had good pace and I was happy to stay where I was, I was happy in terms of the feeling with the car but then everyone just seemed to crash so we ended up P5!”
That fifth-place finish provided Williams with a heavy bag of points that keeps the Grove-based outfit in the hunt for fifth in the Constructors’ Championship.
With Aston Martin and Racing Bulls hot on their heels – 18 and 20 points behind, respectively – Albon’s performance was a lifeline.
“There’s a little bit of luck in there but there’s also good pace and we put ourselves in a position to score P5,” he noted.
“We weren’t one of the ones that benefitted from the Safety Car, we actually benefitted purely on race pace as well. I’m very happy.”
Albon was clear about how crucial this result could be in the bigger picture for the team, especially after Racing Bulls rookie Isack Hadjar scored a surprise podium.
“It could have easily happened where we lost big points this weekend if we didn’t get the P5 today; with Isack [Hadjar] scoring P3, it would have been looking a lot more doom and gloom,” he said.
“Very important for us in the Constructors’ side. We’re going into Monza now which is historically a good track for us. Let’s keep this train going.”
With momentum building and Monza on the horizon, Albon’s heroics in Zandvoort have not only strengthened Williams’ push in the championship but also reminded the paddock that he remains one of F1’s sharpest racers on his day.
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