In a thrilling race at the Italian Grand Prix, Alex Albon managed to secure a seventh-place finish, much to his delight, staving off a challenge from McLaren’s Lando Norris.
After the race, he couldn’t resist teasing his rival for not faring as well.
Albon, who has been on an impressive points-scoring streak since Formula 1’s return from the summer break, shared his thoughts on the challenging race in Monza, saying:
“That was probably my toughest but my most proud race I’ve done, so I’m very happy.”
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“I’m sure Lando didn’t enjoy that one too much, but I did!
“We went into today 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,” Albon added.
Despite facing the added challenge of using used Mediums and used Hards, he expressed his satisfaction with the result and the consecutive points-scoring races.
“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.”
Lando Norris, on the other hand, had kind words for Albon, acknowledging his rival’s strong performance. “I think the pace was strong today.
“It was just very difficult to overtake, as usual, but when we didn’t have to overtake, the pace was good.
“We could pressure Alex the whole race, but he did a very good job, so hats off to him and Williams, they were quick this weekend and managed to stay ahead.”
However, the race was not without its controversy. Norris and his McLaren teammate, Oscar Piastri, found themselves in a tight spot when their cars made contact at the Turn 1 chicane.
Fortunately, neither car suffered significant damage, and they escaped punishment from the stewards.
Nevertheless, McLaren’s team principal, Andrea Stella, was incensed by the incident.
“There should never ever be contact between two McLaren cars,” he fumed.
Stella emphasised the importance of clear parameters for racing within the team, stating, “What is important is to have clear parameters as to what you deem acceptable and what you deem unacceptable. It’s not an emotion thing; it’s just like you do with other things. You deal with racing in a similar way. This is very clear that for any driver, there’s something bigger than them. It’s the team.”
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He continued, “My role is to give them principles and a clear parameter within which they can race… If the contact is due to the fact that there was pressure because of the undercut, then we have something to review.
“Because it means drivers put their team at risk because of affirming themselves.
“This is not acceptable.
“They need to appreciate that there is no way the line should be crossed.”