A look back: Alex in Australia
Refresh your memory on Albono's previous trips to Melbourne
Published
21 Mar 2024
Est Reading Time
2 min
Albono is back Down Under to take to the Albert Park Circuit for the fourth time this weekend – so let’s take a look back at how he has fared previously on Melbourne’s scenic street track…
Back in 2019, the Australian Grand Prix played host to a landmark day in Alex’s career, as he debuted here for Torro Rosso in his first ever Formula 1 race. Qualifying in 13th, Alex raced solidly in his maiden outing to finish P14 in the season opener.
A year on, and by now racing for Red Bull, Alex travelled to Melbourne for the opening race of the season in March 2020, despite the outbreak of COVID-19 just a few weeks prior.
F1 initially announced they intended for the event to go ahead as planned, but hours before FP1 was due to start, the Grand Prix became the first of 13 races that year to be cancelled due to the pandemic.
It would be another two years before we got to see Alex back racing in Aus, but 2022 saw a race that was worth the wait – it was a triumphant return for our No.23.
Behind the wheel of the Williams Racing FW44, Albono carried a 3-place grid penalty into qualifying due to an incident in the previous round.
But the situation became even worse after a failure to provide a sufficient fuel sample meant that he was subsequently disqualified, and relegated to the back of the grid for Sunday’s race.
Despite this difficult start to the weekend, Alex raced masterfully in one of his most notable drives to date. Nursing his set of hard tyres for 56-laps, Albono was able to make up 10 places and boxed on the final lap to come home in P10, and pick up his first point for Williams. This exemplary display of tyre management would earn him the now-famous nickname of ‘Tyre Whisperer’, Down Under.
12 months later, Alex would show that pace in Aus once again, completing an excellent qualifying lap to start P8 on Sunday. It was a chaotic start to race day, with Leclerc spinning out on Turn 3 to bring out a safety car before the first lap had even been completed.
The race resumed on lap 4, but after making a stellar start to the race and rising to P6, Albono managed just three more laps before losing control at Turn 7 and crashing out.
It was an unfortunate way to end the Australian Grand Prix – but the weekend had been extremely positive to that point, and Alex will be hoping to bring that pace once again, this year.
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