‘We didn’t stand a chance’ – Albon reveals cause of poor pace in Barcelona, as Latifi celebrates ‘small victory’

Alex Albon says he could have made “six or seven” pit stops at the Spanish Grand Prix after the Williams driver came home in a lowly 18th – the last of the classified runners – while team mate Nicholas Latifi was happy with what he called a “small little victory” at the end of the race as he finished in P16.

Albon came to Barcelona after making a fine start to the season, with two points finishes to date – a P10 finish in Australia and a P9 the last time out in Miami. But after starting the Grand Prix P18 in Spain, the Thai driver would finish in the same position come the chequered flag – Albon explaining the mitigating circumstances after the race.

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“It was a tough day out there,” admitted Albon. “I picked up damage to the floor after my first stop which heavily impacted the car’s performance. There was a lot of tyre degradation and I really struggled with speed, especially into a couple of the corners. It’s unfortunate, as it meant we didn’t really stand a chance today, but that’s racing sometimes, and we’ll go again next week in Monaco.

“If I could, I would’ve done six or seven [pit stops]!” he added. “We need to have a look because I don’t think everything was quite right. My tyres were gone after one lap. I mean, literally after one lap there was no more grip out there, so we need to see what happened.”

Albon’s team mate Latifi was in a much more upbeat mood after finishing in P16, having overtaken the Haas of Kevin Magnussen near the end of the race, in what he called “a small victory.”

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“I think as predicted after qualifying, we knew it was going to be a very long afternoon, very tough for the tyres, very tough for the drivers,” admitted the Canadian. “I think honestly on my side, I’m fairly happy with the race and the way we managed the tyres. It was nice to get the three stops in, so using the four sets of tyres and at least normally here when you do the two stops, from halfway through the stint you’re just driving with no grip, and it just becomes such a boring race.

“So, it was nice to have a bit more of an attacking approach just because the tyre deg was so high, and I think it was nice at the end to chase down Kevin and have a little small victory; obviously, a car that on paper was much quicker than us. I think we executed well from that side and although it wasn’t really for a position that meant anything, I think it was a small little victory, a small little positive for us and for me personally.”