Alex Albon explains his anger over Williams team radio messages

Alex Albon has admitted he did not agree with Williams’ strategy decision during the Miami Grand Prix and was left feeling frustrated.

After qualifying in P11, Albon had been expected to again challenge for the points-paying spots but his Williams car was rarely seen towards the top end of the grid.

He ended the race 14th, his worst finish this season, and still has just the one point to his name despite a reasonably positive start to the season.

It seems Albon’s biggest complaint came with the team’s instructions over tyres and he was particularly frustrated when told to ease up and try and preserve his rubber.

“I think at the time I got told to manage the tyres we weren’t catching the cars in front,” said Albon, as per Motorsport.com

“So it was either try and not manage and try and catch the cars and overtake them, or just stay at the back.”

Albon started on the mediums and was one of the last on that compound to pit with only Alonso stopping two laps after the Williams man.

It was not only the decision of when to take off the old tyres but also what approach to take when the fresh set of hards was put on.

“I’d rather be aggressive and then suffer the consequences later than never try and just finish last,” Albon said. “So that was why I think I said I don’t really agree with it.

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“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.”

The Williams car has looked the most mercurial so far this season with strong performances in Bahrain and Australia but equally poor ones in Miami and Saudi Arabia. Albon said the reality was they had “the ninth or 10th” worst car on the grid.

“It’s more just we don’t have the pace,” the 27-year-old said. “So we’re just trying to do different things. And I do think we’re the ninth or 10th slowest [sic] 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.”