A fascinating session on the streets of Las Vegas presented a challenging experience for many drivers on the grid, particularly for Alex Albon. His mental resilience was put to the test as he had to recover from a crash at the end of FP3, triggering a red flag.
Photo credit: Williams Racing
Despite the setback, the Williams team showcased a promising pace throughout the weekend, a factor Albon capitalized on. In a bold move during Q1, the team decided to use only one set of Soft tyres, leveraging the cold track conditions. The Thai made it through by just seven hundredths of a second in P14.
This decision ultimately paid off handsomely, however, securing sixth for Albon and seventh for Sargeant when Q3 arrived. They are elevated to fifth and sixth for the race due to Carlos Sainz’s penalty, setting them up favourably in their pursuit of seventh position in the constructors’ championship.
Albon, reflecting on his challenges, revealed ongoing issues with his brakes, stating: “I struggled with the brakes today, all weekend actually.
“I lost confidence, had the off in FP3, partly down to that feeling. It’s always a little bit tricky when you get into qualifying and your last lap was a crash, so you’ve just got to get back into the rhythm.”
The strategic choice to employ only one set of soft tires in Q1 emerged as a key factor in their success.
“We did an aggressive strategy, only using one set of [soft] tyres in Q1, which helped us have a bit more laps under our belt before Q2 and Q3. I’m happy.”
Despite Albon’s dissatisfaction with the car’s performance during the session, he commended the team’s relentless efforts in making gradual improvements.
“The qualifying session didn’t go that smoothly, I wasn’t that happy with the car for the whole session, but each time we went out we were just trying little things, bit by bit getting the car better and better.
“We knew this track was going to suit us and that creates a bit of pressure in some ways to perform. Logan’s had an amazing qualifying session as well, and that’s really put us in a good place for tomorrow.”
