Williams driver Alexander Albon makes up for poor qualifying in Miami in the race and collects points again, also thanks to idiosyncratic hairstyle
After Melbourne, Alexander Albon managed to score points for the second time this Formula 1 season at the Miami Grand Prix this weekend. Finishing tenth, the Williams driver even inherited fifth place after a penalty for Fernando Alonso and was able to enjoy two points on his tally.
As a reason for the renewed points success, Albon jokingly mentioned his red hair, which has now become a kind of superstition for him. Because already at the Australian Grand Prix he had red highlights in his hair after visiting an orphanage in Thailand, which seemed to bring him luck at the time.
In Imola, the red had grown out and Albon went away empty-handed. So he had it re-dyed for Miami, and lo and behold: points again. “You don’t need upgrades, you just need to dye your hair,” the Williams driver tells Sky with a twinkle in his eye, revealing that he made a bet with his team.
Will the whole team dye their hair now?
“We agreed that the whole team would dye their hair red if I finished in the points this weekend. But when I went into the technical room after the race, they suddenly started revising their comments, saying, ‘Oh no, it was for a podium.’ And I was just like, ‘No, it wasn’t!'”
Notwithstanding his idiosyncratic look, Albon is very happy with the overall performance in Miami: “I’m very happy. If you look at the whole weekend, the result came as less of a surprise than in Melbourne.”
“We were in the top 10 in two or three practices and had good pace. To finish P10 is where we should have been all weekend. Yes, we were lucky with some collisions in front of us, but we were right behind them and we caught them as well. It was a really strong weekend. “
Biggest weak point is qualifying
The only “anomaly” Albon cites is qualifying, which he only finished 18th. “We were really frustrated about that,” the 26-year-old reveals. “Things were looking good in Bahrain, but then we lost the way with the brake problem in Imola and the fuel problem in Melbourne. Here we couldn’t get the tyres to work. But we realised what the problem was. It’s about little things.”
After a year on the bench, the Williams driver has now fully arrived in Formula One and also in the new team. “I feel a lot of support from the people close to me, we are on the way up. I also feel like myself, I’m better prepared and more experienced than ever,” he said.
At the same time, Albon admits in regards to his 2021 mandatory break, “It’s difficult because when you’re out for a year, it’s not like football or tennis where you can just pick up a racket and start training. “
Albon also a hoop whisperer in Miami
“You can’t just tackle the problems, but you can be methodical to change the things you want to change, and I think I’m making the right steps.” Accordingly, he is eagerly awaiting Barcelona, where the next race will take place and where extensive pre-season testing has already taken place.
“It will be interesting. I’m not sure if the track suits us on paper. But that’s what I said about this weekend – and I was wrong,” laughs the Thai. “Of course, it will be exciting to see how much our car has improved compared to the winter season. And there are always updates for Barcelona as well. Let’s see where we will be with that.”
“We are optimising our package. And I think we are doing a good job especially in the races when it comes to strategy and tyres. With the C2, I did my fastest time here on the last lap. This tyre just suits us. “
