James Vowels asserts that car upgrades propelled Alex Albon’s stunning drive at the Canadian GP

Team Principal James Vowels attributes Alex Albon's phenomenal Canada GP performance to new upgrades.

James Vowels and Alex Albon

Despite Max Verstappen securing Red Bull’s 100^th F1 GP win, his former teammate Alex Albon stole the spotlight at the Canadian Grand Prix. After putting in a long stint on hard tires, the Thai-Brittish driver earned his best-ever finish with Williams. Team principal James Vowels praised Albon and the team’s points. He also credited the new upgrades to the car. In a video posted on the Williams website, Vowels expressed his admiration for his team

James Vowels celebrated the team’s great result, praising Alex’s impressive drive and deserving drive of the day award. He highlighted the challenge of defending against fast cars with a narrow gap, stressing the importance of maintaining position without mistakes, which Alex achieved. Vowels also expressed confidence that without their upgrade, they would not have accumulated the points at present.

“An incredible drive from Alex and really deserving of that drive of the day award that he received,” Vowels said to Williams’ website. “And just the smallest mistake, the smallest breaking point, moving by just a few meters will mean that you lose that position. And yet he didn’t,” Vowels continued to praise Albon’s drive.

FS Video

“Without our upgrade, I’m confident that we wouldn’t have the points on the table today. And that’s really a testament to the dedication that the team has to this year’s championship,” Vowels added.

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Alex Albon at the 2023 Canadian Grand Prix (Image credit: Williams F1)

Williams’ straight-line speed has always been their strong suit. The layout of the Gilles Villeneuve circuit perfectly complements the FW45. Hence, many expected a decent result for the Grove-based team on Sunday’s race. After putting on a strong show at the Canadian Grand Prix qualifying session, Albon was surely on for a promising result come Sunday.

Albon started the Canadian GP in 10^th place after a rain-affected qualifying session. The upgrades, which are only on the Thai driver’s car, appeared to work well as the race progressed. Albon ran his long trademark stint, completing 59 laps on hard compound tires. He managed his tires well to come home in seventh place, adding six points to his tally.

#CanadianGP??: Alex Albon Radio after the Canadian Grand Prix.#F1 #Formula1 #WilliamsF1 https://t.co/VhCkj9sOEz
— ??️ (@plutoformula1) June 18, 2023

Albon is currently P12 in the standings with seven points to his name. In the constructors’ championship Williams are 19^th, with all the points scored by the Thai driver. Albon’s rookie teammate Logan Sargeant is yet to score his maiden f1 points.