Albon: “I was almost forced to fight with Lewis!”
For his first F1 race on a wet track, Alexander Albon finishes sixth, after battling for a few laps with Lewis Hamilton's Mercedes!
Like Kvyat or Stroll, Albon’s weekend did not predict such an outcome. Eliminated in Q1, in 17th position, the Thai driver quickly found his footing in the race. Ninth by the 8th lap, Albon was even higher, in
Hovering around the fifth place for a long time.
In front of Kvyat, it was nevertheless the Russian who was offered to pit on the 45th lap to switch to soft tires. A risky strategy, ultimately rewarding as Kvyat finished third, on the podium. « It’s a bit frustrating honestly not to finish on the podium, » noted Albon, who finished sixth.
« I think I had a good race, I am very happy. It was my first race on a wet track. I found my bearings and for a long time, I was between fourth and fifth place. We had the pace to stay at that position. »
The number 23 driver even had fun tussling with Lewis Hamilton at the end of the race! « I almost had to fight with Lewis Hamilton. He made a mistake, and I found myself in a position where I could overtake him. I didn’t really want to battle with him because he wasn’t in my race, and I was more focused on Carlos Sainz behind. »
The other important element of the Toro Rosso driver’s race is the fact that he was ahead of Pierre Gasly for almost the entire race. But the two Red Bull-backed drivers collided on the 63rd lap, with the Thai driver abruptly closing the door on the Frenchman. With this explanation as justification: « Gasly had a very good exit from turn 6. I moved to the right to protect a little bit but as we turned at the same time, we made contact. »
Placed under investigation by the stewards, Albon still kept his sixth place, which is thus his best result in Formula 1.
