The Emilia Romagna Grand Prix was one which almost saw Williams Racing claim back-to-back points finishes, after Alex Albon put in a stellar performance to finish in eleventh-place.
Having started in eighteenth, Albon drove brilliantly all race at the Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari Circuit in what were challenging conditions. All drivers began the race on Intermediate tyres, due to a sudden downpour before the race took place. During the race though the track did dry up, with Albon timing the switch perfectly. This saw the Thai driver leap up the order and into twelfth-place.
Albon defended brilliantly from Pierre Gasly and Lewis Hamilton, whilst being in the dirty air of Esteban Ocon. In the end Albon held on for twelfth but was elevated to eleventh, following Ocon’s five-second time penalty for an unsafe release.
On the other side of the garage, it was another disappointing race for Nicholas Latifi, who brought his car home in sixteenth-place. The Canadian had an untroubled race.
Williams’ Head of Vehicle Performance, Dave Robson, believes the team took their opportunities well. Robson also praised Latifi for his stint on the medium tyres.
“Today’s mixed conditions made for some difficult decisions, but we took our opportunities well and can be pleased with the result. Alex drove really well, spending his entire stint on the Medium tyres both in the dirty air from Ocon and with Gasly constantly applying pressure behind.
“It’s a shame we couldn’t get a few more places when we first switched to the Medium tyre as the car was working really well at that point. However, it was a good recovery from a difficult weekend. Nicholas showed some excellent pace on the Medium compound and drove a strong and well controlled race.”
