Heavy rain, three Safety Car periods and tough tyre management all threatened the 28-year-old’s performance, but he managed to improve on his P6 qualifying result to set Williams on a good course for the rest of the season.
Last year, they struggled with reliability and an overweight car that caused them to lose ground to their midfield rivals as they claimed just 17 points, finishing ninth in the Constructors’ Standings.
But with a proven race winner in Carlos Sainz joining the team and James Vowles laying out a clear mission for the next few years, Albon was confident that the only way is up for Williams.
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He said: “The midfield is still hard but I think we’re at the top end of it now. There’s still going to be a fight with RB [Racing Bulls] and Alpine all year. You can see that on our day when we get everything right, we can actually start getting quite close to the top field teams.
“It’s all to play for. Realistically, we’re fighting for the P9/P10s every race, so points like today mean a lot. I’m interested to see how the season plays out. I think that it’s not very clear still who’s going to pip who in the midfield.”