Albon explains angry radio messages during Miami GP
Alex Albon has explained why he disagreed with his Williams Formula 1 team on calls made during the Miami GP.
The Thai-British driver was heard on the radio telling the pitwall that he didn't agree with a message to push on the tyres, while at another point in the race, he felt that he should be doing that rather than managing them.
Albon had a frustrating race after qualifying an encouraging 11th, slipping back to 14th at the flag in a race that saw no retirements.
"I think at the time I got told to manage the tyres we weren't catching the cars in front," said Albon.
"So it was either try and not manage and try and catch the cars and overtake them, or just stay at the back.
"I'd rather be aggressive and then suffer the consequences later than never try and just finish last. So that was why I think I said I don't really agree with it.
"But then at the same time, we wanted to push very hard in the first few laps with the tyre, and it was making the tyre grain up. So I didn't agree with that either. So a bit of everything."
Albon said that his race performance reflected the true form of the car relative to rivals in race trim after his superb effort in qualifying, with the nature of the Miami track not favouring Williams.
"It's more just we don't have the pace," he said. "So we're just trying to do different things. And I do think we're the ninth or 10th slowest car, that's the reality of it.
"We're just getting the most out of it most weekends, and on a track where the tyres do get hot there is deg, and it exposes our weaknesses.
"And today was a really clear example that these kinds of circuits don't normally suit us.
Alex Albon, Williams FW45
Photo by: Williams
"We did a great job in qualifying, and this was our true pace today. So just one of those things. Hopefully, we can go to another circuit that suits us a little bit more."
Like other drivers, Albon was frustrated by how hard it was to pass in the DRS zones after drivers expressed their opposition to the FIA's decision to shorten them.
"Particularly frustrating for me, because I was so in the one place where you need to be quick. So Turn 7, if you're slow through there you just tend to miss the DRS, and then the car behind you has it.
"So it was bad timing. It was a badly designed DRS zone for our car!
"We were quite vocal about shortening DRS zones all year so far. And they still stuck to their guns on shortening them, and we kind of pre-warned it. It happens, no surprises for anyone."
He added: "I think the show matters. And if everyone's watching these kinds of races, no one's going to be enjoying them. At the same time, we say we can't do things last minute.
"But even in the sprint race, the whole tyre strategy was last minute. So I wonder what is last minute and what's not last minute. I think that point is very dependent on what gets asked!"
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