Alexander Albon thought Williams were crazy to ask him to do that F1 Canadian GP stint on the one-stop and fend off faster cars.
Albon pitted on Lap 12 when he switched from medium tyres to hard and undertook a stint of 58 laps until the chequered flag in F1 Canadian GP. It was the longest stint on the hard compound whose average lifetime is noted to be 27 laps.
It was not just the tyres, he also had to fend off train of cars which had Esteban Ocon, Lando Norris, Valtteri Bottas, Lance Stroll and Oscar Piastri. With his straightline speed, it was difficult for the Frenchman to pass him despite the pace and tyre advantage.
But for Albon, he felt it was crazy from Williams to ask him to complete the stint and fend off the faster and fortunately it worked for him. “It was great,” he said. “It was super. It was more than I expected of course. It was stressful as well I have to say. I don’t enjoy those races, but the team love putting me in those situations.
“It was good. There was a point in the race when we were on those tyres, and they told me you’ve got 40 laps to do the rest of the race and I thought ‘you guys are crazy’. But we made it last. Obviously, the closing speed of the cars behind was quite big so I didn’t think I would be able to hold them off.
“George looked like he ran into some brake issues, and Esteban didn’t have the straight-line speed to get past us. It worked in our favour. We know we have a slippery car. The cool track I think just helped keep my tyres alive long enough and good enough for them not to be able to overtake me. I’m super happy,” summed up Albon.
For Williams too, they kind of put everything into the Canada upgrade which had been hard to get through with only Albon getting to run. “I have to say the work that’s been done at the factory to get this upgrade ready has been monumental,” he said.
“We knew this track would suit us and we did put a lot into this weekend; we really put our eggs into one basket, and it’s great to pay off. We are fighting the AlphaTauris in the championship and they are very consistent, dangerously consistent.
“But luckily for us, and unfortunately for them they are kind of in the P11 area. So, to get these points on the board I believe puts us up to ninth now. For now, we need to continue with that. The upgrade is working well, so let’s see,” summed up Albon.
Here’s how the fight panned out: https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/video.2023-canadian-grand-prix-norris-and-ocon-and-stroll-and-bottas-battle-to-the-finish-line.1769072025162090626.html
Here’s Lando Norris on battles behind Alexander Albon