F1
Albon wants to fight for points in Melbourne
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sFollowing the decision of Williams, who does not have a spare chassis this weekend in Melbourne, Alexander albon will be the sole representative of the Grove team during the Australian Grand Prix. After 23 laps completed in Free Practice 3, the Thai driver qualified in twelfth position. He missed getting into Q3 by two tenths.
“I am happy with the result today, the 12e place is good for us, it's where we wanted to be. Given the circumstances, it wasn't easy for the team and even less so for Logan. We don’t like racing in these conditions”, he explained to the official website of the Formula 1.
The former stable resident Red Bull admitted to feeling pressure given the circumstances. The chassis he is driving this Saturday and Sunday is in fact that of Logan sargeant. The American was forced to withdraw. Being the sole representative of a team is never easy, but the level of responsibility Albon feels is clearly increased.
“I felt pressure to be honest yes. It's a different position, I've crashed before and you have to get the confidence back before Saturday, but with everything going on I felt a real responsibility to do a good job. »
The objective for Alexander Albon will be to score points during the Grand Prix, or at least to be in the fight for a few units: « The best reward I can give to the team and to Logan is to fight for points. »
Graining and hard tires, two unknowns for Albon
In 2022, number 23 managed to grab tenth place at the finish, having used an aggressive strategy. Difficult to say if 2024 could go the same way, Albon having missed Free Practice 2, always important for gauging tire degradation over long stints.
Graining seems to be a problem encountered by all the single-seaters at Albert Park. A fact that Alexander Albon has not yet been able to experience this weekend. The Thai is, however, reassured by the lack of laps of the entire field on hard tires. Enough to give him an opportunity this Sunday?
“We had some good races here, graining will be an important point in the race and I haven't really done many laps yet! We'll see how it goes. The good news is that no one really rode the hard tires. So we're pretty much on a level playing field.
I'll have to adapt during the first stint and see how it goes but otherwise, it will be driving as usual! »
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Yves-Henri RANDIER
23/03/2024 at 03:13 a.m.
It would be better for the Thai because, otherwise, the Floridian will wonder what was the point of stealing his chassis!!