Alex Albon was delighted to hold on and score his third points finish of the season at the Belgian Grand Prix.
The Williams driver reached Q3 for the first time in 2022 in qualifying and started P6 for the race after all grid penalties had been applied.
But with the sun finally emerging from behind the clouds on Sunday at Spa Francorchamps, the warmer temperatures meant the 44 laps proved pretty challenging for the London-born Thai driver.
“We didn’t get the greatest start and then after that, I could tell very quickly it would be a tough one," Albon analysed.
Also Read:
“I was asking when we need to pit because we were struggling out there. Our advantage is also sometimes our weakness – we are good on the straights but that means we slide around a bit more in the corners, and that doesn’t help tyre degradation.
“[At] some tracks, we are good at tyre deg and we are fast, but with a track temp like this today it just made it very difficult and we got through it."
Albon's straight-line speed though did help him defend on a day when overtaking proved easy for most on the Kemmel Straight.
P10 baby pic.twitter.com/kwFckmgzT0
— Alex Albon (@alex_albon) August 28, 2022
And he spent the closing laps holding off a train of cars behind.
“We were on the final set of tyres running P10 and it was just holding on for dear life," Albon admitted. "I was very happy to see that chequered flag at the end.
“It was a really good result and I feel like all weekend we’ve done a really good job. I’m really happy with how this weekend’s gone, so positive vibes into Zandvoort.”
