Alex Albon praised Williams’ progress across the course of this year’s Formula 1 season after he secured successive points finishes in the Netherlands and Italy.
Albon captured an unexpected top 10 result at Zandvoort – placing eighth – and entered the Monza weekend anticipating a competitive showing on account of the FW45’s weaknesses being masked at the circuit.
The Anglo-Thai driver qualified in sixth position and battled McLaren’s Oscar Piastri through the opening lap, re-passing the Australian after initially ceding a spot, and spent swathes of the race with Piastri and his team-mate Lando Norris in close proximity.
Albon was eventually overhauled by the offset Lewis Hamilton but resisted Norris throughout the race to claim seventh, equalling his best result since joining Williams last season.
“That was probably my toughest but my most proud race I’ve done, so I’m very happy,” said Albon. “I’m sure Lando didn’t enjoy that one too much, but I did!
“We went into the race knowing it was going to be a tough, long race and we knew tyre degradation would be high.
“I think on paper we went into this weekend expecting to be a little bit quicker than we were and four laps into the race I knew it would be long, but we managed to keep everyone behind.
“We were on used Mediums and used Hards so we made it tough for ourselves; I wouldn’t want to do that race again but I’m super happy with the result.
“Scoring points two races in a row is really enjoyable. From where we were at the start of the year to now is amazing. I don’t think the next few races will be easy for us so let’s enjoy these ones.”
Albon’s result boosted Williams’ prospects of taking seventh in the Constructors’ Championship – which would be its highest finish since 2017 – as the team extended its advantage over Haas to 10 points.
