The Williams Racing team is leaving the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari after a good result in the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix. Alex Albon finished 11th and Nicholas Latifi 16th in the battle-packed race.
Albon in particular had a hard time during the race, which came under pressure from Alpha Tauri driver Pierre Gasly
Max Verstappen wins Grand Prix Emilia Romagna with a show of power
Alex started the race 18th and Nicholas 19th, both on the Intermediate Pirelli tyres
Both drivers ran a one-stop race, with Alex entering the pits on lap 17 to switch to the Medium compound, and Nicholas following on lap 18
Dave Robson, Head of Vehicle Performance: Today’s mixed conditions made for some difficult decisions, but we took advantage of our opportunities and can be pleased with the result. Alex rode really well and spent his entire stint on the Medium tires both in Ocon’s foul air and with Gasly putting constant pressure on the heels. It’s a shame we couldn’t get a few more places when we first switched to the Medium tire as the car was working really well at the time. However, it was a good recovery from a difficult weekend. Nicholas showed excellent pace on the Medium compound and drove a strong and well controlled race.
Alex Albon: I’m very happy with today’s result. We maximized the chances and overtook some cars on the track at the pace we had. We had a new rear wing configuration for the weekend that really helped us hold onto position, and was especially important in the second half of the race when we battled with Gasly. It’s a shame we just missed points, but we’re seizing opportunities, doing things differently and showing that we can fight higher even though we don’t have the fastest car. I was hoping DRS would be enabled a little sooner; we had six or seven laps where we were faster than the cars in front of us and with our downforce levels we could have gotten past it straight away if we had DRS. By the time it turned on, I wished it wasn’t! All in all, another weekend with many positives for the team to take with them to Miami.
Nicholas Latifi: It was definitely a very difficult race and I think that’s what everyone expected when we saw the rain come down before we got to the starting grid. Conditions were similar to the start of the race here last year, so I’m glad we made it to the end of the Grand Prix this year! It was important for me to gain that experience and build my confidence in the car, because I still feel like it’s not quite where it needs to be. I think we did, which is positive, and our pace towards the end on the medium band was relatively strong.