Albon buoyed by train of cars fighting him for 10th in Spa F1 race

Albon started sixth after reaching Q3 and taking advantage of other drivers receiving penalties and found himself clinging to the points-paying positions throughout the race.

Albon was under pressure from Aston Martin Lance Stroll at the start of the last stint, but the impressive top speed of Williams meant he could keep the Canadian at bay.

As Stroll struggled to find a way, he was caught Lando Norris, Yuki Tsunoda, Zhou Guanyu and Daniel Ricciardoall of which had DRS on the car at the front.

But Alban was able to finish 10th ahead of the line of cars behind and score his and Williams’ fourth point of the 2022 season.

“In my opinion it was one of the best races I’ve had in Formula 1,” Albon said.

“It felt like that last stint I was just hanging on, I couldn’t make any mistakes or we would have been passed straight away.

“But top speed saved us a bit and I was glad to see the checkered flag.”

Albon wasn’t fazed by the growing number of cars in his mirrors, saying, “The more I saw, the better I felt.

Alex Alban, Williams Racing

Alex Alban, Williams Racing

Photo by: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport images

“I thought, you know what, the train is taking shape, that’s nice, that means everyone is under pressure on their own. When it’s just you and the car behind, they can afford to back off, they can come back to you, do different things.

“But when there’s a train, everybody has to watch the speed and they can’t afford to cool the tires or the brakes, whatever.

“When I saw the train, I was like, yeah, well, ride it!”

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Alban also managed to win the points in both Australia and Miami thanks to unconventional strategies, but felt that Spa was “almost a clean race” which served as a boost for Williams to push forward.

“Obviously we had a good race in Melbourne, we had a good race in Miami,” Albon said.

“We were on the same strategy as everyone else today and we couldn’t be as creative just because the degree was so high today.

“So it was one of those things where I felt like maybe it wasn’t my best race, but I felt like with what we had and the pace we had today, to get a point was really good work.

“It’s great for the team and for everyone, it’s the positivity we need to take with us into the next few races. It gives us good confidence going into races like Monza and those low downforce tracks.

“I think we can do a good job.”