Alex Albon secured a solid P13 in the season opening race at Sakhir for the Bahrain Grand Prix.

After all the buzz of pre-season, it was time to get down to business for the 2022 Formula One World Championship.

Alex hit the ground running, securing a Q2 appearing in his first qualifying session with Williams Racing - Alex would lock in a 1:32.664 whilst on a clear track during his last run to secure a spot on the seventh row of the grid, outperforming the car to secure to P14 on the grid for Sunday's Grand Prix.

The Grand Prix got underway with a strong start for Alex - jumping to P11 at the start and soon engaged in a good battle with former Williams Racing driver Valtteri Bottas, showcasing that the new era of F1 cars can battle wheel-to-wheel.

The first round of stops soon came, with Alex pitting for mediums planning for a longer second stint.

As the pack sorted itself out, Alex found himself battling with the McLaren duo, with Alex getting past Lando Norris in the process.

After the second round of pit stops, Alex found himself in P16 as the drivers settled into what was expected to be a routine final stint.
However, with a little over 10 laps remaining, the Safety Car was deployed so marshals could attend to Pierre Gasly’s stricken machine.

There was a flurry of pit stops with the entire field finding themselves all on soft tyres for the dash to the finish.

The Safety Car pulled in with six laps left but there was more drama at the top end of the field after the restart with both Red Bull’s failing to finish, elevating Alex to P13 at the chequered flag.

Alex Albon, Williams Racing Driver #23:

"My first Formula One race with Williams went pretty well! It felt like we did a good job and really maximised what we had.
I had a good start and managed to make up a few positions, so I was pushing hard."
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"Inevitably, a few faster cars overtook and we slipped back down a couple of places, but it’s a step forward considering the struggles we had last week. We knew it was going to be a difficult weekend, so to come out P13 with no reliability issues is something we should be pleased with.”

Alex will be back in racing action for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix on the 25-27 March, at the Jeddah Cornice Circuit.