F1 team boss praises 'FANTASTIC' Albon for key racer's attribute shown at Monza

Albon in paddock op de Hungaroring — Photo: © LAT Images

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F1 team boss praises 'FANTASTIC' Albon for key racer's attribute

James Vowles says Alex Albon showed off some brilliant skill with his drive at the Italian Grand Prix

Sam Cook Digital Journalist

Sports Journalist who has been covering motorsport since 2023

Tuesday 5 September 2023 15:57

Williams team boss James Vowles has praised Alex Albon's impressive drive at the Italian Grand Prix.

The Thai driver qualified sixth, once again showing off his brilliant skills over one lap, before defending stoutly during Sunday's race to bring the car home in seventh.

It follows a string of great performances from Albon, who now has 21 points throughout the season, whilst his team-mate Logan Sargeant is yet to get off the mark.

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Now, speaking to Williams' official X page, Vowles has spoke of Albon's impressive form.

"What a fantastic result for the team, seventh place was very much everything the car had in it today, and that's thanks to Alex, fantastic defending for near enough the entire race.

"What's clear again is that we were a little bit more struggling on tyre degradation than our competitors, and in that first stint we had no choice but to come in early. Had we not, the McLaren's would have undercut us easily.

"From then on really, it was a fight, and a survival to the end of the race, and you saw at certain points that Norris was able to get through, and Alex did a perfect job of immediately snapping back, and taking that seventh place."

Williams progressing nicely

Alex Albon will be hoping that a podium with his Williams team isn't too far away

The straight-line speed of the Williams was too much for the McLaren's of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, who struggled all race to get past Albon.

This shows the remarkable step forward that the Williams team have made, from a car that has been struggling near the back for the last few seasons.

The team will be hoping that they can cement seventh place in the constructors' championship between now and the end of the season, but may need some stronger performances from Sargeant to back up Albon's form.

Vowles said Sargeant will learn a lot from Monza, where a five second penalty left him in 13th place, outside of the top ten once again.

"In terms of Logan, it was a tough race for him," he continued.

"There was still points just about there for him, if he'd managed to hold onto that position against Valtteri (Bottas), he would have been in a good space but that degradation was just too high, and he wasn't able to hold on at the end."