Williams driver Alex Albon has revealed his frustration after he qualified P14 for Sunday’s British Grand Prix at Silverstone. Albon believes his FW47 car is fast enough to help him secure a top ten finish, but a “compromise” in qualifying resulted in the setback.
The Thai-British driver noted improvements in the car, hence the bold claim of it being capable of being in the top 10. However, he hinted that his team needs to improve its strategy to help him and Carlos Sainz secure faster lap times, since it wasn’t ready for his second Q2 run today. Speaking to the media after qualifying, Albon said:
“I think internally we need to review what went on there because we put on a set of tires when Franco crashed, and then we went out on track when it was quite clear it was gonna be a red flag, so we ended up basically wasting a set in qualifying.
“We went into Q2, run one on a new set of tires. To this point we’re looking good, we’re feeling good, and then I actually do a pretty good lap on the Q2 run one considering it’s used tires, and then we go into Q2 run two and we then go out kind of at the very front of the pack, where Max is, and Max’s outlap is about 15–20 seconds a lap slower than ours.
“So we then do Q2 run 2 on our final new set, basically not even close to being ready. Q2 was honestly compromised, let’s say that.
“So, we need to review what we… we generally do go on the early side in qualifying. We like to go on the early side. Today was too much. We need to understand why we like to go so early all the time.”
Elaborating on his frustration, Albon added:
“We’ve been quick all weekend, and we were quick in Q1. We were quick in Q2 run one. And then it’s like yeah, P14, so…Frustrating, very frustrating.”
Albon then highlighted the improvements on the car, but emphasized that there was scope for improvement. He said:
“I think even just this qualifying session is highlighting that we’re going to have a quicker car. We’re going to be more competitive. Our car is getting faster and faster, and we need to make sure that we use it.
“We’re obviously falling down a little bit in terms of the updates and upgrades from other cars, but we still should have a car that’s in Q3 today — or possibly two — and in many ways, we feel like we let ourselves down.
“I think on my side as well, I’m not saying I’m happy with my job in Q2, but we don’t make it easy when we create these situations like we did in Q2. So yes, we’re always improving, we’re always analyzing.
“I think, as Williams go, I think we’re some of the most self-critical, focusing on ourselves and really trying to improve these areas. So in that sense, I know we’re going to get there.
“It’s just that days like today, and the last couple of weeks, just highlight still some areas to improve.”
Sainz went on to secure P11 in qualifying, but a 10-place grid penalty for Oliver Bearman could mean that the Spaniard could start the race in P10 and Albon in P13.
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