F1 News: Williams really salutes Alex Albon who is always calm at the wheel, even in a precarious situation that makes the team anxious.
Alex Albon is known for having managed to secure a seventh place at the Canadian GP. Unfortunately, he failed to continue the positive trend at the Red Bull Ring circuit.
But the Thai national bounced back to finish eighth at Silverstone, increasing Williams’ advantage over Alfa Romeo in the constructors’ championship. At the British GP, rider Albon had big capital to break into the points zone after starting from eighth place.
But it was not that feat that made Williams smile, but his composure under pressure when the red flags were raised in Q1. Three minutes from the end, he was stuck in 20th position after the cancellation of his first lap. Then, surprisingly, Alex Albon managed to record the seventh fastest lap in slightly wet track conditions.
“What impressed me about Alex was (how calm) he was, although when the red flag came up in Q1 we weren’t in a great position,” said Dave Robson, vehicle performance manager at Williams, as quoted by Motorsport.com.
“We sent him over there to line up, you lose tire pressure, I’m pretty sure that’s not the ideal way to start the lap, but we have to do a clean lap. It was an amazing lap, and it all started with his very calm demeanor, not panicking at all when the red flag was raised,” he added.
“He’s totally calm, totally relaxed, happy that everything is under his control.”
That’s just one of Albon’s many abilities to turn in the numbers almost every race weekend. Robson then admitted that the 27-year-old’s positive attitude inspired the crew.
“Most of the time he’s in there, and he definitely takes everything out of the car. That’s a huge asset, because if you don’t take everything out, your confidence goes down,” he said.
“I think his composure is rooted in his confidence and the fact that he got all of this out of the car. Somehow this thing spread all over the garage. If he had come in panicked, it would have turned into a big mess.”
“I think once he’s on the track uphill and looks confident. He’ll get the most out of the car. It builds confidence elsewhere.”
“I’m sure you’ll hear it on the radio when he’s on the track where all of a sudden a different Alex appears, can sound really grumpy. I don’t think it’s really like that, he’s just like that when he’s driving. When he comes back to the garage and his helmet is off, calm and cool,” Robson concluded.
Article Tags: Alex Albon, F1 2023, williams
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