Williams Racing’s Alex Albon put in a strong Qualifying performance at the Austrian Grand Prix, to line-up in twelfth place for Saturday’s Sprint race. Albon’s team-mate Nicholas Latifi will start nineteenth at the Red Bull Ring.
It was a great session by the Thai driver, who came within a tenth of making it to the top-ten shootout. Albon finally got to put the new upgrades to good use, after last weekend’s wet qualifying failed to work in the upgraded car’s favour.
The Williams driver was “very happy” with his qualifying performance, but is slightly frustrated to have just missed out on the top ten.
“I’m very happy. Firstly, the team did a great job to get everything ready after the damage from Silverstone; they worked flat out at the factory and here at the circuit, so to repay them with a P12 is great. We have obviously brought an upgrade and it’s nice to see the performance increase because of it and I hope we can progress forward each weekend.
“We were only a tenth away from Q3 – it’s almost frustrating as you can always think of places you could have improved – but I’m very happy. I think it’s all to play for tomorrow.”
“I’ve found a little bit more driveability” – Nicholas Latifi
Latifi had a disappointing qualifying in Austria, on the back of his superb Qualifying Three appearance last weekend.
The Canadian made a mistake on his final-lap in Qualifying One, resulting in Latifi being unable to improve on his lap-time. Despite being eliminated so early-on, Latifi was actually pleased with his performance. Even with his car struggling around the short and fast circuit, Latifi believes he’s “found a little bit more driveability” in his FW44.
“Even though the position and lap time were not good enough, I still felt good behind the wheel carrying over what I felt in Silverstone. I made a mistake in Turn 3 but with that, my lap time and how much the upgrade should give, I should be quite a bit slower than the other car. I think I’m actually right where I need to be, so for me that’s two strong Qualifying sessions in a row which is nice.
“Honestly, I’m happy with that because I know what the gap should be and where we need to be. The car is still struggling around here but I’m happy that I’ve found a little bit more driveability. I more optimistic going into the Sprint despite the lack of pace. Hopefully there will be some opportunities tomorrow.”
Credit: Williams Racing