Alex Albon believes that Williams' Belgian Grand Prix points finish was made possible by "maximising" one of their strengths. Albon was consistently quick throughout the Spa-Francorchamps weekend, and secured sixth on the grid following the grid penalties that were applied to other drivers. Despite his poor start, the London-born Thai was able to use the rapid straight-line speed of the car to fend off those behind to bank one point for 10th place. The result is Williams' first score since Albon's ninth-place finish in May's Miami Grand Prix.
Good execution key to Williams point, says Albon
"On the final stint, I was thinking about three-stopping, but we held on and kept Lance [Stroll] behind," explained Albon, who also scored points in the Australian Grand Prix. "Then it was about not making any mistakes, and I think as a whole we executed the weekend from FP1 well, and maximised the positive of our car being quick on the straights. "We experimented, made the best of the tyres in qualifying and maximised the results potential in the race. "We had a complete weekend, and that's what it shows: when you don't have the fastest car, but you do everything right, you can still come away with a point or two."
Latifi finishes P18 on mixed day for Williams
Albon's teammate, Nicholas Latifi, was involved in a second-lap incident with Valtteri Bottas at the Les Combes chicane. Latifi ran wide – blaming the marbles from junior categories – and got into the gravel, which spat him across the track and into Bottas' path. The Alfa Romeo was then beached as the Finn was forced to retire from the race on his 33rd birthday. Latifi came home 18th and last, one lap down on race winner Max Verstappen.
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