Alex Albon ecstatic after scoring second-row start to Dutch GP for Williams, claims Zandvoort is a ‘confidence circuit’

Alex Albon's best finish was fourth with Red Bull too.

Alex Albon, Williams (Credits: Williams)

Williams’ Alex Albon, delivered a stunning qualifying performance at the Dutch GP, securing fourth place on the grid. Despite Max Verstappen‘s pole position triumph, Albon’s display earned him widespread acclaim as one of the most outstanding moments of the day. The Thai driver was elated to bag his career-best starting position.

Local hero, Max Verstappen clinched pole position in front of his enthusiastic home crowd. However, the standout performance of the day came from Alex Albon of the Williams team. Albon’s journey throughout the weekend was remarkable. He consistently demonstrated a strong pace, finishing in the top five during Friday’s practice sessions.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d0jzjTEhJew

Albon’s prowess was most evident in Q1, where he outpaced the competition and secured a spot in the final shootout, Q3. Come Q3, Albon initially seized the top spot on the timesheets, but drivers in much faster machinery pushed him down to fourth, claiming third. Albon’s ability to extract maximum performance from his car on this challenging track was impressive.

FS Video

The Thai driver expressed his surprise and satisfaction regarding his performance in the qualifying session. Albon claimed, “This is a confidence circuit.” He emphasized the importance of driver confidence and the connection between the driver and the car. He highlighted the significance of his final lap in qualifying saying, “That [final] lap was the only lap I did in the dry [in that session] after aborting our first lap.”

Discover: WATCH: Logan Sargeant’s Q3 breakthrough ends in a destructive crash at Dutch GP qualifying

Alex Albon claims Williams must reverse engineer to unravel their Zandvoort advantage

Alex Albon with his Williams team (Credits: The Race)

Albon remarked, “It was a pretty special session. The pace has been quite strong since FP1. Obviously a nice surprise. We need to reverse engineer it to understand why we are so strong [here].” Albon’s astonishment stemmed from the unexpected nature of his performance, given that neither he nor the Williams team anticipated such a strong showing.

Additionally, Albon noted the influence of a persistent headwind, suggesting that it had concealed some braking issues. He hoped that the headwind would persist on race day, potentially benefiting Williams once again. Albon was narrowly edged out by his fellow F2 graduates, Lando Norris from McLaren and George Russell from Mercedes, who secured top-three starting positions.

Albon: This is a confidence circuit, so we need to have that connection with the car. That [final] lap was the only lap I did in the dry [in that session] after aborting our first lap.
— Junaid #JB17 (@JunaidSamodien_) August 26, 2023

Albon secured a remarkable fourth-place start, matching his career-best performance, a noteworthy feat considering Williams’ current status as the eighth-fastest team in Formula 1. His consistency shines as he remains the only driver on the grid never out-qualified by his teammate; even his teammate, Logan Sargeant, made his Q3 debut. Williams’ impressive display drew accolades from fellow competitors.