ALEX ALBON WILLIAMS DRIVER

How happy are you to score a point?

Very happy. I feel like we came in today, we looked at our race predictions and we looked a bit sad. It was a race where we took risks because we felt like no matter what we did, we were going to finish 19th or 20th. We took a bit of time to build the tyres up into a nice window – when you start last you can afford to do that. Then it just got better and better and, by the end of it, it felt like qualifying laps for the last 25 laps of the race. It’s completely unexpected but it really highlights all the work that’s been done at the factory and here at the track. That’s where determination and motivation get you.

When in the race did the team switch to such a bold strategy?

I was surprised we were never boxing under the VSC or the safety cars. I thought, ‘OK, well they know something I don’t.’ But once we got clear air, we just went. We were on much older tyres than the guys around us and we were keeping pace more or less with the Mclarens and, at the very end, pulling away from the Alpines too. What’s interesting is the C2 tyres really suit our car. We almost need to understand why, because it’s a bit unexpected. Maybe we need to qualify, race, do everything on that tyre!

How does a point at Williams compare to your Red Bull podium?

We’re not spraying champagne or raising a trophy – that bit always is very nice. But it feels just as sweet. Honestly, how unexpected it was too. If you’d told me I would finish P10 in the morning, I would have said there was a massive shunt at Turn 1.