Alex Albon said that he is “super proud” of everyone at Williams Racing, after scoring points in Bahrain for the first round of the 2023 FIA Formula 1 World Championship.
Albon began his second season with the Grove-based team at the season-opener and put in another impressive performance, picking up an unlikely points after qualifying in fifteenth.
A combination of strategy, excellent driving and impeccable defending saw Albon reach tenth, a position he has secured for Williams an impressive number of times since his arrival at the team. The two-time podium-sitter managed to stay in the position to bring home points for Williams, in the first race of the season.
“In my opinion, we were out of position on the grid due to a tricky Qualifying session but we had a really good start, made up some positions off the line and then had our elbows out at a couple of moments during the race,” Albon said.
“We were strong, we were fighting and our race pace was better than expected. It was a tough race, a lot of management, but we made it work. We’re maybe not quite midfield pace, but we’re close and to get a point in the first race is pretty amazing.
“I’m super happy and super proud of the team; it was a job well done by everyone at Williams Racing.”
Logan Sargeant: “I absolutely loved every second of my debut race”
The first race of the season around the Bahrain International Circuit saw American driver, Logan Sargeant make his Formula 1 debut, after an impressive Formula 2 campaign in 2022.
Sargeant’s twelfth-placed finish saw him finish the highest of all the rookies on the grid, with Nyck de Vries finishing fifteenth and Oscar Piastri not finishing the race for the McLaren F1 Team.
Despite not scoring points, Sargeant believes the team “outperformed everything” the team and the spectators were expecting, with his team-mate scoring points and Sargeant himself being in the midst of the midfield battle.
“I absolutely loved every second of my debut race. The first time going off the line was special. I’m proud of the team, I think we outperformed everything we expected coming from testing.
“Congratulations to Alex and everyone at Williams Racing for scoring the first point of the season.
“From myself, everything went smoothly from race start to pit-stops to Virtual Safety Car. Hopefully, we can use this as a good base and continue to make progress throughout the year.”
