Alex Albon reflects on latest points-scoring effort in Japan as Carlos Sainz insists ‘better results will come’

There were contrasting fortunes for the Williams drivers in Japan as Alex Albon bagged more points with a P9 finish, while Carlos Sainz was unable to match the feat in 14th.

While on paper Albon should have been the happier of the two, during the race things were quite different. He sounded frustrated on the radio in the early stages of the race thanks to an upshift issue, and later questioned the team’s strategy in leaving him out longer than some of his rivals.

But on a day where the undercut did not prove potent, that strategy choice did not affect his finishing position, the Thai driver coming home where he started in ninth.

“We’ve been experimenting with shift settings all weekend and we thought we’d finally landed on something we were happy with,” Albon explained. "Turns out, it actually felt much better in Qualifying than it did in the race.

SUZUKA, JAPAN - APRIL 06: Ninth placed Alexander Albon of Thailand driving the (23) Williams FW47 — Albon bagged more points for Williams in Japan

“The car wasn’t easy to drive in the conditions either. In practice on Friday, the wind suited us more, but it was completely different today. We still scored points though. It just shows that even on days when we’re not that optimal, we’re able to score points. In that sense, I’m very happy.”

Albon tops the midfield runners in the Drivers’ Championship, in seventh place with 18 points. He is ahead of Lewis Hamilton, and only two points behind the other Ferrari of Charles Leclerc.

Sainz, however, only has one point to his name, earned when he was promoted to the top 10 following the three disqualifications in China.

His race in Japan was made more difficult than it could have been thanks to the grid penalty he picked up for impeding in Qualifying. Starting P15, he ran a long first stint on the mediums and switched to the soft tyres late on.

But while he did manage a few overtakes, he could not climb back towards the top 10.

SUZUKA, JAPAN - APRIL 06: Carlos Sainz of Spain driving the (55) Williams FW47 Mercedes leads — Sainz was unable to climb back through the field from a lowly grid slot on Sunday

“Unfortunately, as expected, it was a difficult race stuck in traffic after a costly Saturday, with some details to polish in Qualifying and then the penalty,” he said afterwards.

“On a positive note, I think the pace was there today. I was comfortable with the car, managed to do some good overtakes and overall learnt a lot out there on track.

“Now the focus is to carry the positive feeling of this weekend on to the next [races] and build from here. Once I start putting everything together, I know better results will come.”

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Sainz added that he is giving himself “the first quarter of the season” to fully get to grips with his new car, which would mean he expects results to improve after Miami. By then he will have driven on a range of different tracks in varying conditions.

But in such a tight midfield, Williams will be hoping he can get up to speed as soon as possible, with a chance this year of a big result in the Teams’ Championship.