Points were “definitely on the table” before the Sainz incident

Alex Albon was the victim of an unfortunate incident in Canada when a spin from Carlos Sainz sent him into the wall in front of him. For a driver and team desperate for points, the Canadian GP was a golden opportunity. Albon was understandably frustrated after the race. his race ended prematurely.

Last weekend, Albon was able to record another Q3 outing in the Williams FW46. The British team brought another series of updates to Montreal in the form of lighter components. Given the team’s extreme weight deficit at the start of 2024 Elimination of excess kilos guarantees a faster car.

On race day, the wet conditions put drivers and teams to the test. Avoiding mistakes was the key to success at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.

In this respect, Albon did everything right. He avoided the mistakes that led to his teammate Logan Sargeant’s accident in the early stages of the race. Meanwhile, the Williams pit wall was implemented a sensible strategy.

Albon frustrated after bad luck in Canada

In eleventh place, all the hard work was in vain. The Thai driver analyzed an unfortunate afternoon in Canada:

“A disappointing end to our race today. Points were definitely within reach and the car felt good on all compounds in the changing conditions.

“We didn’t take any unnecessary risks and the team implemented the race plan well. It was a fight for survivalwhich was always the case given the weather, and we ended up getting caught up in other people’s mistakes.

“That’s racing and I don’t think I could have done anything differently.”

To make matters worse for Albon, his incident with Sainz directly benefited rival teams, with Alpine benefiting the most, finishing 9th and 10th and overtaking Williams in the constructors’ championship.

Although Albon has generally been faster than the two Alpine drivers this year, hectic races like last weekend offer opportunities. In this case, luck was not on his side.

James Vowles’ team needs to regroup for the upcoming Spanish GP. Provided they can continue to introduce upgradesthey should be able to fight for points more regularly.

The Barcelona circuit was a difficult venue for Williams last season, but with a new car and a new philosophy, they should fare better this time around.