Alexander Albon revealed a convenient headwind was key to him claiming a shock second-row start for the Dutch Grand Prix.
The Williams driver matched the best starting position of his career by claiming fourth on the grid. He qualified within a second of Max Verstappen’s pole time.Logan Sargeant joined his team mate Albon inside the top 10. The result came as a surprise, as Albon initially expected a difficult weekend at Zandvoort, as Williams tend to struggle on twisty tracks.
“It’s no secret that we’re not normally good at high downforce circuits,” Albon said. “We always think about Spa or Monza or some track like that. For me, that’s the key unanswered bit.”
However he had one theory for why the FW45 had performed so well at Zandvoort. “The one explanation I do have is there’s been a really nice headwind in a lot of these corners,” said Albon.
“Turn nine, turn 11 have always been terrible corners for us, where we’ve been losing two tenths each corner and with a headwind… not much, half a tenth maybe.
“So I think that’s helped us a lot, a lot more than normal. We actually drove this wind on the simulator, we knew this wind was good for our car, but we got it which is nice.”
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Despite his initial concerns, Albon has been strong this weekend since the moment he got on track for first practice. He finished no lower than sixth in the three practice sessions, which boosted his hopes for qualifying today where it started wet before drying in time for Q3.
“When you add confidence with a track like this, which is so narrow, so uncompromising, and at the same time mixed conditions wet, dry, you really just need to feel at one with the car and I have done this weekend,” he added.
“I think when you have these kind of conditions, it’s not always about peak downforce, it’s just about having a car that’s driveable on the limit and our car has been all weekend.”
However Albon is concerned he could come under threat from the Aston Martin, Red Bull, McLaren and Ferrari drivers starting behind him.
“I think our race piece was respectable in FP2, but it definitely wasn’t top tier,” said Albon, who has three point finishes this season.
“All the top tier teams are around us, there’s no driver that can hold them up they’re all directly behind me, so it’s going to be a tough race.
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2023 Dutch Grand Prix
- Azerbaijan GP defeat was key to record-equalling run of wins – Verstappen
- “Too early to say” if podium signals return to form for Aston Martin – Alonso
- Verstappen makes history with unbeaten hat-track in first home races
- Perez is ‘doing his job and will be our driver in 2024’, Horner insists
- Ferrari had the “sixth or seventh fastest car” at Zandvoort – Sainz
