Admitting fault: Alex Albon is being self-critical at Silverstone

The starting position for the British Grand Prix – which could be considered a home race for the London-born Thai-English driver Alex Albon – was not the best: the Williams driver had to start from 16th on the grid. And his home race was effectively over as early as the first lap, as he collided with Ollie Bearman’s Haas car.

Following the unfortunate collision, Albon not only had to pit to have a new nose cone fitted, but he also received a time penalty – by then, at the very latest, he knew the race was over. The team kept him in the race to test a few upgrades. After 43 laps, he parked his car in the pits; it was the fourth time this year that he hadn’t seen the chequered flag – he retired three times, and on one occasion he was unable to start the race at all.

“That was my mistake,” the 30-year-old sighed afterwards. “I didn’t get off to a good start and then my wheels locked up. Unfortunately, that was it. It ruined my race, and after that we took the opportunity to test the new front wing and sort out a few things we don’t usually have time for during a normal race weekend.”

“That sums up the season so far quite well – basically, we just need a race that goes smoothly,” Albon added, repeating: “This race was down to me; the first lap wasn’t good enough.” Finally, he promised: “We’ll try to fight back harder.”

The Williams team has brought only a few upgrades to the track so far this season. For the British Grand Prix weekend, however, they had a number of new parts in their kit, with the new front wing being the most significant change. A comprehensive upgrade is due to follow shortly, which should help the Grove-based team close the gap on the midfield.

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