Albon refusing to change approach in future Hamilton fights

Alex Albon has no intention of changing his approach should he again find himself in a future wheel-to-wheel battle with six-time Formula 1 champion Lewis Hamilton.

Albon and Hamilton have now collided twice in the past three races, with the Mercedes driver earning five-second time penalties on each occasion.

After coming together in last year's Brazilian Grand Prix, Albon again fared worse in Sunday's season-opening race in Austria where he had a shot at claiming victory before the latest clash spun him into the gravel at the Red Bull Ring.

But as to whether he will follow the lead of Ferrari's Charles Leclerc, who last year claimed he would alter his approach after colliding with Red Bull's Max Verstappen, when asked Albon said: “No, not at all. I think it’s just bad circumstances that we’ve come together twice.

“I do think we had a chance [to win the race]. Of course, strategy helps, and the guys did an amazing job to find an opportunity to put us on the soft tyres, and when we came out, obviously the two Mercedes were on cold tyres after a double safety car period.

“It was looking good for us and I knew we had to do the overtakes early to have the chance to get to Bottas, but I do think we could have done something special.”

Bizarrely, while Hamilton claimed he had apologised to Albon post-race, the Thai-British driver has said there has been no contact.

"We didn’t speak afterwards," said Albon. "To be honest, there wasn’t too much really to say. It is what it is.

“I’m sure Lewis didn’t intend to make contact. Not too much to say really. “We have just focused straight away into race two, and that’s about it.”

Before you go...

Poor Ferrari form no concern to Sainz ahead of 2021 move

Repeat of Austria issue may lead to "cautious" Mercedes approach

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