There were mixed fortunes for Williams in the Italian Grand Prix as Alex Albon walked away from Monza with a hatful of points, while team mate Carlos Sainz was left frustrated by a difficult afternoon that saw contact and a battery issue derail his challenge.
Following a difficult Qualifying that saw both cars exit in Q2, Williams opted to split strategies for Sunday’s Grand Prix – starting Albon on the hard tyre and Sainz on the mediums. The former ran a long opening stint, which saw him climb up into the top 10 and run as high as fifth at times, mixing it with the leading cars.
Even after he pitted, Albon managed to hold onto a points paying position and was rewarded with seventh at the flag – finishing as the lead midfield car.
“Fantastic strategy and great car pace, I think those two together, you are going to have a good time of it,” Albon explained as he reflected on his race.
“Honestly… It was meant to be a tough race on paper but actually we were the first hard car once everyone pitted. I don’t want to call it an easy race, but the car was really nice to drive. One of the best Sundays balance-wise I’ve had all year.
“It always seems when we run the low downforce cars, our balance improves as well. Many parts of that race we were just as quick as the top teams. It was a great comeback from a tough Saturday.”
Albon’s points keep Williams clear of Aston Martin in the fight for fifth in the Teams’ Championship, while the Thai driver sits seventh in the Drivers’ standings – moving ahead of Kimi Antonelli in the Mercedes.
“It proves we have a consistent car, it has been one of the biggest focus points for us last year and this year,” Albon continued. “That is proving to be working and even at the same time, even when Saturdays are miserable we end up back in the points, I don’t even know how!
“I’ll keep it going, I’m enjoying it and I’ll try and battle Kimi until Abu Dhabi.”
But while Albon was left overjoyed with how his race unfolded in Italy, the same could not be said for his team mate. Sainz has endured more than his fair share of bad luck this season – and more befell the Spaniard at Monza.
He started on the mediums – the same strategy as the majority of the field – but a mix of a battery issue and contact with Ollie Bearman’s Haas, saw him come home in 11th – meaning he still has not scored in a Grand Prix since Canada back in June.
“We were the last of the medium starters I think and it was always going to be difficult to make a comeback on the same strategy as everyone in front of me but we actually extended the medium quite a long way and we were doing a good comeback on the hard,” Sainz explained.
“Quicker than Bearman in front, quicker than Bortoleto, we were going to start passing at that stage but when I went for a move with Ollie, unfortunately we touched. That pretty much ruined my race, I got damage and yeah, not the easiest race.
“We also ran into some battery issues so a difficult day in the office.”
Sainz has more than once this year found himself in the wrong place at the wrong time – just last week he was penalised after contact with Liam Lawson, he made contact with Charles Leclerc at Silverstone while brake and gearbox issues prevented him even starting the race in Austria.
Sainz was asked what he can do to arrest his bad luck, with the Spaniard replying: “Keep pushing, like my Qualifying pace is there, my race pace is there so at some point it will finish. But, not going to lie, it is starting to get frustrating and rather depressing.”
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