Albon (Williams): 11 laps down after camera failure, 14-minute pit stop

Williams driver Alex Albon crossed the finish line in Barcelona a whopping eleven laps behind winner Lewis Hamilton. The Grand Prix on the circuit in Montmelo near the Catalan metropolis lasted 66 laps, so Albon's 55 laps were not even officially counted as a successful finish. The long delay was caused by a problem with a camera in the cockpit.

Repair stop ruined the race

Albon explained after the race, noticeably dejected: "I think it was over my head, that's why I didn't see it." The repair work took so long that Albon was already several laps behind. Accordingly, the English team decided that they would only finish the race to collect data.

Race becomes FP4

Albon: "After the incident with the camera, we thought to ourselves: We're not going to score any points anyway, so we might as well turn the whole thing into a test drive. We've already done that a few times this year." In the final classification, Albon ended up with a total pit stop time of 14 minutes and eleven laps down. A fourth free practice session, so to speak.

Albon had already converted his race into a test session at short notice in Japan. The time on the track and therefore for data collection is sorely needed: Williams made a late start to the new regulations, missed the shakedown in Barcelona at the end of January and has been lagging behind the competition in terms of development ever since.

Troubleshooting in the middle of the GP

Albon: "We realised after qualifying that there was a problem with the car. We couldn't fix it, but we were able to adjust it in the garage so that it was roughly as it should be." Albon could not say exactly what the problem was after the race, only this much: "Something mechanical with the car. We need to understand that. The car doesn't behave properly in left-right corners and we need to fix that. Maybe it's a small consolation to know a bit more about it now, but at the same time I just want to make sure that the problem doesn't occur again in Austria." Because the next race will be held there at the Red Bull Ring in a fortnight' time.

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Albon: "I think the cars are so new and we realise that it's not just about reliability on the track. There is also reliability behind the scenes. We're sort of going through a process to make sure the parts in the car are doing what they're supposed to do."