Alexander Albon says he had to work hard to get the points in F1 Italian GP, as Franco Colapinto quite pleased finishing close to Top 10.
Even at the onset of the F1 Italian GP weekend, Williams had high hopes of points finish considering how well they have been at Monza. Albon started off well and got into the Top 10, but the race panned out differently where it was much harder for the Thai.
Some of the mishaps in the opening laps allowed Albon to remain inside the Top 10 but had fierce fight against Haas’ Kevin Magnussen. The Dane seemingly had much better tyre degradation, which became a thorn for the faster degrading Williams.
In fact, Magnussen passed Albon and pulled away in the try to create a 10s margin for his penalty. But he fell short by 0.846s margin which helped the Thai to end up ninth. He was happy to score but had to work hard with Fernando Alonso closing in behind too.
He wanted to have a go at Magnussen early on but his tyres were graining a lot. “We never were in the right window in the whole race, having to really un-drive it to stop graining,” said Albon to media. “Everytime we were in a battle, then it was graining the tyres. We always were not in a good place, really, to be honest with the tyres.
“But you could see a lot going on because Kevin, was pushing a lot harder than us, he was able to at least manage the whole race. I am very happy with P9 but, it felt like we didn’t really have the pace to do but we still did it. We couldn’t have asked for me. Also, we got lucky with Kevin, we wouldn’t have made it work because Fernando was right behind us.
“They boxed for the second tyres two laps early and he was still quicker than me on the hard. I think we did a really good job as a team to race them,” summed up Albon, whose teammate Colapinto made a solid debut in 12th. He overtook good number of cars in his first attempt on the hard tyres and undertaking a race trim.
“I wanted to get a good result, but I was not happy with the pace,” started Colapinto to media. “It was a question mark. I have never done more than 8 laps in a row before this. I can do 53, and I’ve never tried a hard compound as well. A lot of new things, but I’m very happy. It was a good weekend overall.
“Of course, I was regretting the little mistake I did in qualifying, but in the race I came back to the team with a really strong pace. I think it was a good step forward to learn many things better. Overall, it was really positive. We thought about two stop, and at one point I felt that tyres were good and I thought I could go to the end.
“The team as well thought the same. So, we were on the same page. Luckily, I think we nailed the strategy. We did a good job on the tyres. It was a bit of a question mark, but it was good. The engineers stayed with me during all the session, and they helped me a lot with the tools, with the payoffs under control.
“It was very positive. I’m happy, of course, with the performance. I need to be working. We have a lot of information to take on to a factory, take on to a simulator, and understand better what do I need to work. So, I think it’s a very good first race, I’m very happy with the day. It was a very hot day, but I’m feeling happy with the car.
“It’s always tough here for a race, many things, but I think we’ve done a good job. Finishing a couple of seconds before the points was decent. So, I’m happy, and I think we’ll have a good chance in the next races to do our job,” summed up Colapinto, who reckoned Monza was best place to start considering that he knew the circuit.
The next few races will be a challenge at unknown venues, but he feels having driven the car, it will be now about getting to know the tracks and extract the pace. “The gap now is good time to recover,” said Colapinto. “First the body, and then time to prepare well back with the project. But now at least it’s only one thing to learn.
“I already know the car for this weekend. So, it was a good weekend to do your debut. I knew the track quite well. So, it was only one thing to learn. Next weekend will be also one thing to learn, which is the track. It’s a tough one, but now I have, I think, time enough to do a good project in the simulator, to spend time with the engineers.
“But, of course, the time was very limited. The call was very, very late, and I couldn’t do anything. But, in the next two or three races, I think I’m going to be able to nail it on that. And then I’m going to arrive more prepared with the car, with the settings and everything else,” summed up Colapinto.
Here’s Franco Colapinto with his overtakes: https://x.com/F1/status/1830704499700142122
Here’s James Vowles on Franco Colapinto, Mick Schumacher
Here’s how F1 Italian GP panned out
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