After race two, championship contender Alexander Albon had mixed feelings on his second place. While it had been his strongest result since the Hungaroring, the Thai driver was frustrated to have lost out on a win in the one race he could have closed the gap to Charles Leclerc.
As the lights went out at Monza, Albon was quick to jump into second. He temporarily led Nyck de Vries as he chased leader Antonio Fuoco for a lap. The Italian’s grip on the lead wouldn’t last long though and Albon and his team-mates scythed past.
After a brief safety car period, caused by a crash from his ART Grand Prix compatriots Leclerc and Nirei Fukuzumi, he lead the field away. The lead proved to be a dangerous position though as by lap six, de Vries was past and would go on to take his maiden win.
“Slightly disappointed with the weekend, but in a way quite happy.” said Albon on gp3series.com. “I didn’t really have the pace but still took fairly good points. It’s mixed feelings for me really. It’s quite hard to lead at the front at this track.
“Nyck had quite a big pace advantage over all of us in Race 2. He could break the tow which I couldn’t.”
Albon has struggled in the last few rounds, picking up 18 points in the last two weekends. As a result he was pleased to be back at the sharp end, with the championship on the line.
“Yeah, I think we had a low point in Spa-Francorchamps. It was my worst weekend in a couple of year’s … We struggled a bit in Race 1, well as a team we struggled.
“Getting back on the podium in Race 2 is good and gives me confidence going into the little break we have coming up. We’ve been struggling a bit since Hockenheim since the airborne moment. We need to look at it, we think we know what’s wrong but we hope it will be ok for Sepang, fingers crossed.”
Up next for Albon will be the Sepang International Circuit. As a Thai driver, local support should be high for the 20-year-old.
“Yes I’m really happy we’re going. It’s near Thailand obviously. I’ve got a few sponsors coming over. I will go to Thailand before and after the race so there will be good times.”
