Alex Narrowly Misses Out on Points at the Spanish Grand Prix
Scuderia Toro Rosso Driver Alexander Albon just missed out on a points scoring position at the Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona, finishing in 11th position and less than one second behind a championship point.
Formula One headed to familiar territory in Barcelona, the home of testing and the Circuit de Catalunya. All drivers know the circuit incredibly well and with the circuit notoriously difficult to overtake on, Qualifying was crucial.
Alex put in a solid performance in Qualfiying for the Spanish Grand Prix, qualifying 12th on the grid and only missing out on a spot in Q3 by 0.1s.
The Thai driver was in the battle for the top 10 throughout the race, running in 11th for the majority of what was turning into a fairly processional race until the Safety Car was deployed on Lap 45. The team were required to service and pit both cars on the same lap in order to try and consolodate track position. This slightly hampered Alex as he emerged in 11th posiition but still very much in the fight for points.
Alex closed down the Haas of Romain Grosjean, going for a bold overtake at Turn 1 in the closing stages - but was forced to back out of it with his rival giving him no space. This hampered his exit and the Frenchman kept track position. Alex kept the pressure on throughout the remaining laps, sticking within one second of his rival and using the DRS to threaten an overtake to steal the final point.
Ultimately Alex ran out of laps, crossing the line in 11th position and just missing out on adding another points finish to his tally during his Rookie season in Formula One.
Alexander Albon (Car 23):
"It was disappointing to be so close to points and come away with nothing, but it was good fun racing with Romain.
I had to back out of it because I thought I might have had an incident when we both decided to go right at the same time. I had to hit the brakes and lost the momentum into Turn 1, I think if it wasn’t for that I would have got passed.
The race was lost for us in the pit stop, so we need to review what happened because we should have had two cars in the top 10.
It’s a frustrating one, but I’m happy with my performance and I’m looking forward to fighting for points again in Monaco.”
The iconic streets of Monte-Carlo await the Formula One World Championship on the 23-26 May for the next round of the championship. Alex has previous good form there after taking pole position for the FIA Formula 2 race there last season, as he heads to the Principality for the first time as a Formula One driver.
Press Release Content: Scuderia Toro Rosso
Media Content: Red Bull Content Pool