Williams Formula 1 driver Alex Albon admitted that it’s been a “weird feeling” inheriting team-mate Logan Sargeant’s chassis for the Australian Grand Prix weekend.
Albon suffered a heavy crash in FP1 which ultimately wrote off the chassis on his FW46, with a troublesome winter meaning that Williams did not have a spare available.
With points crucial to the lower-end teams, the Grove-based squad made the contentious call to bench Sargeant and have Albon participate using the American’s chassis.
The Anglo-Thai driver somewhat rewarded Williams’ choice when he qualified in 12th place at Albert Park, providing him with an outside chance to score points in the race.
“A different feeling, a weird feeling, if I’m honest,” Albon said of taking Sargeant’s place.
“It’s one thing making a mistake and the pressure of trying to deliver a performance in qualifying, but it’s another feeling when you’ve been given responsibility, and I take that responsibility, it’s not lost on me.
“It’s tough, but at the same time the only thing you can do is focus on your job and put it all behind you and treat the weekend like a normal weekend.
“The ultimate kind of payback to Logan would be some points.”
That payback started in FP3 and continued in qualifying, where Albon believes he left just “half a tenth” on the table en route to 12th position, behind Lewis Hamilton.
“I felt my Q1 lap was very strong,” he added.
“I’ve had this a few times at Williams where especially when the tyres are very soft it’s very hard for me to go much quicker and if I go quicker through a corner I tend to eat the tyres.
“Considering everything that’s happened over the last two days it’s been a good result.”
Williams’ decision to pull Sargeant from the GP in favour of Albon, the driver culpable for the chassis write-off, came down to the cold, hard reality that the Anglo-Thai driver has a greater propensity for claiming points when the rare opportunity comes the team’s way.
That task is proving harder than ever in the early stages of the 2024 season, with the top-10 points positions practically reserved for Red Bull, Ferrari, McLaren, Mercedes and Aston Martin unless force majeure plays its hand.
However, three red flags during last year’s Australian Grand Prix prove that chaos can befall anyone and if there’s a chance at points Williams will need to take it.
The fly in the ointment this weekend comes in the form of RB’s Yuki Tsunoda, who qualified an impressive eighth on the grid.
Albon said a points finish on Sunday “would be a lovely cherry on top,” but is wary of the Japanese pocket rocket racing for the Faenza-based RB outfit.
“We have to be realistic though, I’m next to a Mercedes and I don’t think I’ll see him for too long,” Albon began.
“Yuki’s surprising, he’s doing a very strong job in the RB, I think our race is going to be with him, if it’s the normal Australia, hopefully three red flags and an opportunity [for us] to score some points!
