Albon frustrated by persistent Williams tyre struggles in F1 Dutch GP qualifying

Alex Albon cut a very frustrated figure after qualifying for the Dutch Grand Prix after struggling to manage tyre temperature on his Williams Formula 1 car.

Albon suffered a Q2 elimination as he qualified 15th for Sunday’s grand prix at Zandvoort, while team-mate Carlos Sainz progressed to Q3 with ninth.

The Thai-Briton immediately reacted by saying “no tyres at all, why do we do this to ourselves”, after a positive weekend until then finishing seventh in final practice and sixth in Q1.

Albon put it down to a lack of tyre temperature at the end of the second session, having been too slow to get to the pit exit to start a lap.

“Basically when we came out the garage there was a… I must have been waiting for about two and a half minutes to get out the pitlane,” said Albon.

“By the time we got out of the pitlane, all the people that came out the pitlane before were on their push laps.

“So then you do a slow outlap because you have to let all the cars pass who are on the push lap. By the time that happens, you go into Turn 1 and the tyres are absolutely nowhere. You cannot do anything.”

Albon thinks this is an area Williams need to improve upon, citing struggles with maintaining tyre temperature all season.

“We know we’re on the back foot in terms of our window,” he added. “To get the tyres to work is narrower than other teams.

“We’ve seen it in so many tracks we’ve gone to this year so far, if we don’t get our clean outlap, we’re nowhere.

“Our outlap normally around this track, so far this weekend, has been about 10-15 seconds a lap quicker than the people around us. And my Q2, run two outlap, was maybe 20-25 seconds slower than my normal outlap.

“So you can imagine that normally doesn’t go well when you go into Turn 1. It’s just frustrating because it doesn’t make it easy. It doesn’t make it easy for us in many ways because obviously, I’m angry in the moment.

Carlos Sainz, Williams, Alexander Albon, Williams

Photo by: Andy Hone / LAT Images via Getty Images

“But as a strategist, when your window is a bit smaller than everyone else’s, to get the clean air and to get the right space on track is very difficult. 

“I feel for us. I think we basically need to figure out the tyres first. That’s the main issue and then everything else will come easier. That’s where the frustration is.”

Sainz, who joined Williams this year from Ferrari, agreed with Albon in saying “I didn’t expect this car to be so sensitive to these kind of things”.

“Never had it before in my life, in my career, but it is something that I’ve been learning through the year,” Sainz added.

“I’m trying to adapt and trying to understand the best way I can, this is why you see me sometimes in Q1, P19, or Alex in P19 in Q1, two drivers that normally are very closely matched.

“But it’s also up to us as a team to get on top of these sensitivities, these issues and get it right when it matters like we did today in Q2 and Q3.”