Albon: Spain nadir helped Williams fast-track Canada upgrade

Alexander Albon has revealed how Williams' Formula 1 nadir in Spain helped propel them onto his excellent seventh place in the Canadian Grand Prix.

At Barcelona, the FW45 struggled with the mix of high and medium speed corners, leading to the team deciding to fast-track their planned upgrades in time for Montreal.

The sizeable package included a new floor, suspension and rear wing as Albon used it to great effect, securing a Q3 berth in Qualifying - having topped Q2 - and then held off Esteban Ocon in the closing stages to bank six points for seventh.

Discounting the second place at the abandoned 2021 Belgian Grand Prix, it was Williams equal-best result since Felipe Massa and Nicholas Latifi took seventh in the 2017 Brazilian and 2021 Hungarian Grands Prix, respectively.

Williams upgrades

"I wouldn't have been able to do it without a good car, and honestly this weekend, we had a great car," Albon told media including RacingNews365.

"I can't thank the team enough, I've been at the factory quite a lot with [Team Principal] James [Vowles] and I can't tell you how much of a car deficit we were at post-Barcelona.

"We decided to fast-track the upgrade to Canada, and when I went to meet the team and discuss with them that this would be our only chance possibly until Monza.

"The guys worked absolutely flat out to get it ready and it is great to pick up the car - we even put a new power unit in this weekend - and put everything into this weekend.

"Actually there was a bit of pressure coming into the weekend to deliver and we did.

"We go under the radar and a lot of our good races are completely unseen by everyone as it is a boring race for most people - it's just how it is.

"But we got our TV time, and if anything it shows the progress we are making.

"We are on our way, on our journey, we've still got a couple of years ahead of us, but it is still great to get these kind of results.