Jost Capito “relieved” by Williams’ first point
Alex Albon brought the first point of the season to Williams at the Australian Grand Prix. A tenth place that tastes like victory for the English team and is a relief for Jost Capito.
It was about time. Williams scored its first point this weekend in Melbourne. Alexander Albon finished in 10th place in the Australian Grand Prix to open the scoring for the English team. Although Williams is still in ninth place in the constructors’ standings, Albon’s performance was a relief for the whole team.
« Of course, it’s a relief for the team. Scoring a point early in the season is quite encouraging. We had a tough start, and even this weekend after Saturday’s qualifying. But the good thing about motor racing is that everything can change on Sunday. It’s never over until it’s over. If you keep pushing, stay motivated, and keep the team alive, luck can turn around. Sometimes, things need to get worse before they get better. » Jost Capito, the director of Williams, is delighted.
The English team had not scored any points since the 2021 Russian Grand Prix (Russell 10th), which is a drought of nine consecutive races outside the top 10. Williams has been going through tough years since 2018. The iconic team is stagnating at the back of the grid, and their last victory dates back to 2012 thanks to Pastor Maldonado. A sad streak for Williams, the second most successful team in the sport with its nine constructor titles.
If the FW44 is certainly not the most performing car on the grid, Alexander Albon maximized its potential to enter the points. The Thai driver had a very strong race, managing to keep his hard tires from the start until the last lap. While he was seventh, the former Red Bull driver had to make a pit stop for his mandatory stop and came out in tenth position. An unexpected result for someone who started from the back of the grid, after being disqualified in qualifying and receiving a three-place penalty in Jeddah.
“The idea [of keeping the hard tires until the last lap] came during the race,” explains Capito. “When you are in seventh place, you want to make the most of it! We don’t know the tires well, and that’s the problem. We had kept the hard compounds throughout the weekend for both cars, so we didn’t know how they would perform. We knew that in the past, these hard tires worked well for us, so we hoped it would be the same here.” A successful gamble that allows Williams to consider the rest of the season more calmly with this first point.”
