Alex Ends 2022 Formula One Season with P13 in Abu Dhabi
Alex Albon battled to a P13 finish in the final round of the 2022 Formula One World Championship at Yas Marina for Williams Racing.
Abu Dhabi hosted the season finale for the 2022 season, providing a tyre management challenge to round out the year.
A challenging Qualifying saw Alex line-up in P19 for the final race of season, where a difficult session with track ruined any chance of a shot at advancing into Q2.
Alex made a solid start to the Grand Prix, gaining ground in the early stages - as the race quickly started to become about tyre management and strategy.
Alex was up to P15 within six laps, which included a couple of great passes on Kevin Magnussen and Mick Schumacher.
On Lap 12, Alex became the first driver to stop as he made the switch from the medium compound to the hard tyre, committing to the two-stop strategy.
Alex was soon on the charge once more, making another move on Magnussen before speeding past Valtteri Bottas in the second DRS zone on the next lap.
The Thai racer would get as high as P11 before making his second stop whilst others around him on a one-stop strategy also pulled in.
Another solid stop from our crew got Alex back out there in P15 before his teammate was involved in an incident on Lap 39.
As the race reached its conclusion, Alex was involved in a thrilling three-way fight with Pierre Gasly and Zhou Guanyu.
Alex would pass the Frenchman with 10 laps to go, but the Chinese racer would get by both before the Chequered flag.
Alex Albon, Williams Racing Driver #23:
“I’m really happy with my race today and I think with such a strong start!
Getting passed four or five cars in those first laps, it was great."
“There were moments in the race where we kept hitting a degradation point and would get to 15 laps and then suffer a loss of performance, so we were forced to pit quite early.
“We did fall short at the end finishing on worn tyres, but I think starting P19 and finishing P13 is a good job, so I’m really happy.
“This year has been a massive team effort and we’ve done our best in maximising the car. We haven’t had the easiest car to drive which is no secret but I’m really proud of everyone.
We know our weaknesses and we’ve maximised our opportunities when we were struggling, and when the car was in a decent window, that’s when we scored points.
“This puts us in a good place for when we have a better car next year.
All in all, thanks to everyone in the team for all their efforts this year.”
Formula One now heads into the Winter Break, but Alex will come back in 2023 recharged with his team for the new season, when it all starts again in Bahrain!