Alex Albon of Williams finished a treacherous F1 Australian GP 4th in the race initially. However, the stewards pushed Albon back to P5 as they rescinded Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli’s unsafe release penalty.
Alex Albon was able to take advantage of the perfect storm of events that landed on them just narrowly missing the podium.
The consistency Williams and Albon in the race during a wild F1 Australian GP
The conditions on track were a massive challenge to Albon and the team. As he said, it never felt comfortable to drive in, with the wind making the car unstable.
For most of the race he was in P7, keeping Yuki Tsunoda very honest. Boxing at the right time to switch back to inters from dry tyres moved him ahead of the Japanese driver, and he benefitted from Oscar Piastri’s error.
“Honestly, it was one of those really awkward races where it never felt comfortable. The wind was gusting like crazy, the conditions were obviously so mixed.
“I wasn’t that confident in the race, it was more about making sure you don’t make mistakes and you knew the result was going to come at the end of it.”
According to him, it was the consistency of the drive and the strategy that mattered during the duration of the Grand Prix.
“There were moments in the race where I felt better and other moments of the race where I felt, especially when the wind picked up, where I felt like relative to others I was losing performance. I think as a team we really executed everything we could today.”
Albon: Williams made a ‘fantastic start’
As he stated, he gave props to the team to be able to secure a P5 on the board, adding that these types of occurrences are going to be few and far between.
It was almost P4 but Mercedes driver Antonelli passed him with a couple of laps to go.
“First race, it’s not easy to be dialled in, if you know what I mean, in terms of strategy and approach to the weekend. We executed everything so well today to get that P4 [P5 following the removal of Antonelli’s penalty].
“Just a fantastic start and it just shows we’ve made a huge step from last year. These results, they’re not going to come around very many times this year.
“We’ve talked a lot about capitalising early internally within Williams, trying to make sure we take advantage of rookie drivers and things like that to get them points quickly. P5 today, that’s exactly what we’ve done.”
Talking specifically about the conditions, the Williams driver said he is confident in making the most out of the wet conditions on track. He looked mega fast in qualifying in Brazil last year before his massive accident in Q2.
However, it was a pleasant surprise for him and the team for the implosion of the Ferraris, and incidents, for him to slot himself into P5.
“Yeah, I back myself in these conditions. I feel like I know my limits and I know not to over-push it.
“But at the same time, starting P6 you just want to… I was very happy to finish a P7, even allowing one of the Ferraris to get past. To get into the weekend today and get P5, I would not like to do that race again. I’m glad that it’s done.”
Albon’s take on Williams’ progress through the field
However, as with everyone, Alex Albon’s race through the 57-lap contest was not that easy. The windy conditions, and overheating wet tyres were always going to slow them down somewhat. Although, as he noted, they have made gains compared to last year.
“Yeah, windy, especially gusty weather and tyres that start overheating generally are not a good combination for us. All being honest, I think relative to the RB and Alpine, we weren’t as competitive as we wanted to be, but we were much more competitive than we were last year in those conditions.”
“You could feel it in your helmet how much wind was moving around, and it was a good sign. Honestly, it was nice to know that the pace was still there.
“I was just risking a little bit more when I knew the pit window was going to open and when I pushed could catch Yuki [Tsunoda] no problem, and I was just waiting for him to box or not box and obviously we pulled the gun first and did the right call.”
How Williams reflected on their mishaps last year according to Albon
Williams reflected back on its missteps last year, and it has beared fruit for them. According to Alex Albon, the lack of car upgrades, and the car being ‘overweight’ showed how much performance they lost throughout the 2024 season, losing them points in the process.
At the F1 Australian GP last year, Albon took Logan Sargeant’s car after Williams did not have a spare chassis following the Thai’s massive shunt in FP1.
“Last year we looked back in reflection and realised how many points we realistically missed by being overweight, and situations like this time last year.
“We knew the season was always going to be tricky at the end of last year because we weren’t upgrading our car, and it was this feeling like there were so many races where we could see weight corrected just how strong we were going to be.
“And so it was extra frustrating to be behind the car, behind the wheel and knowing that there were points in Bahrain, in Japan, this time last year [in Australia] even.
“So we’ve fixed all that and we’ve come out with our gloves out and done the job.”
