The Saudi Arabian Grand Prix delivered its share of action, particularly for Williams driver Alex Albon.
Albon, who kicked off the race from the 12th position, found himself in an early scrap with Magnussen and Esteban Ocon. The battle with Magnussen intensified, leading to a collision that resulted in a 10-second time penalty for the Dane and a damaged front wing for the Thai.
As the race progressed, Albon found himself stuck behind Magnussen and a line of cars, with Magnussen tactically slowing the pack in Sector 1 to aid his teammate, Nico Hulkenberg, in gaining a lead to keep P10. Despite the frustration, Albon overtook Yuki Tsunoda to move up to 14th and pushed forward to finish 11th, narrowly missing out on scoring points.
Reflecting on the incident, Albon said, “It happens,” showcasing a magnanimous attitude towards the competitive nature of the sport. Still, Albon remarked, “I wouldn’t call it the midfield, we were fighting at the back! We didn’t score any points, so it was a bit frustrating,” expressing disappointment.
Albon also commented on the car’s performance, noting, “We didn’t really have the straight-line speed, had front wing damage as well, so it was tough. But I think we had a better race-fit car than it showed today.”
This acknowledgement hints at the potential within the Williams team, despite the setbacks faced in Saudi Arabia. “A bit frustrating but we’ll focus for Australia.”
Logan Sargeant faced his own set of challenges but managed to climb from a 19th-place start to finish 14th. Sargeant’s race was a tale of two halves, with the American finding more pace in the initial stages before grappling with the car’s limits towards the end after ending up in the train behind Kevin Magnussen. “A good first 35 laps, a good start,” Sargeant reflected. “I think I just struggled to find the potential at the end, the last 12 to 15 laps or so.”
The Floridian was left to rue that he was unable to unlock the full potential as he finished a close 1.2s and 2.7s behind Tsunoda and Ocon respectively. He did finish ahead of the Japanese driver in the end as the RB F1 driver picked up a 5-second post-race penalty.
“I think I was starting to explore that potential but it just took too long to realise that it was there, and I think without that we probably could have picked a couple more off. But it is what it is, a few bits to learn from the end but all in all not too bad,” the American driver explained.
Reflecting on his experience in Jeddah and looking forward to the Australian Grand Prix, Sargeant highlighted the parallels between the two races. “I think Australia’s generally a similar race – one stop, the pace is improving though the race,” he shared. “I need to make sure I can understand what’s left in the car and maximise that potential towards the end.”
