“I can’t go any slower”: How Williams used Albon to get Sainz into the points

Carlos Sainz Jnr ensured Williams salvaged a point from the Singapore Grand Prix after the blow of the team’s double disqualification on Saturday.

But team principal James Vowles made sure to thank his team mate Alexander Albon for the vital role he played in helping Sainz snatch the final point from 18th on the grid. Albon was told to delay their rivals in a key moment between the Williams drivers’ pit stops.

The Williams pair were demoted to the rear of the field after their rear wings failed a technical inspection after qualifying. While Sainz took up the last place on the grid, Albon started from the pits so he could make changes to his car’s set-up, which included running what the team referred to as a “test item”.

By lap 38 other drivers pitting had promoted Sainz to ninth place immediately behind Liam Lawson. He resisted pressure from Oliver Bearman behind as he closed on the Racing Bulls driver.

Bearman had already passed Albon, who passed on some useful advice to Williams on how Sainz could help contain the Haas. “Tell Carlos to use ‘overtake’ [mode] out of turn 14,” he told race engineer James Urwin, before correcting himself: “13.”

Sainz’s race engineer Gaetan Jego duly warned him “Bearman is strong [at] turn nine and exit 13, 14,” on the next lap.

As Sainz and Bearman closed on Lawson, Albon fell back into the clutches of Alonso. He locked up his tyres heavily as the Aston Martin driver passed him, then urged his team to bring him into the pits.

This slightly early pit stop compromised Albon’s strategy. Williams had hoped to bring him into the pits at a point when he would emerge behind the race leaders and not lose time being lapped by them. Although he avoided the leading trio, he was delayed when Piastri lapped him.

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Albon’s quick laps at this stage in the race allowed him to ‘undercut’ Lawson, who also lost time as Sainz and Alonso caught him. When Lawson pitted on lap 48 he rejoined behind Albon, which meant Williams could use him to help Sainz. Urwin told Albon to reduce his pace:

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As Williams knew they had Lawson covered with Albon, they didn’t have to worry about trying to ‘undercut’ the Racing Bulls driver with Sainz. When they finally brought Sainz in on lap 50, he came out ahead of Albon, who had reduced his pace by well over three seconds per lap at times:

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With a fresh set of soft tyres for the last dozen laps, Sainz duly picked off Gabriel Bortoleto, Franco Colapinto, Yuki Tsunoda and Isack Hadjar to claim the final point for 10th place.

After Sainz’s pit stop Vowles immediately came on the radio to thank Albon. He repeated his thanks after the chequered flag, when Albon also gave his less-than-impressed verdict on the team’s development item:

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