84 F1 RACING JANUARY 2020
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BOUNCINGBACK
FROMADVERSITY
Being realistic, with goodrespect for his situation but an awareness of where
to improve, would quicklyproveto be among Albon’s most valuable qualities.
Shunting in practice in Australia put thattothe test immediately, when he took a
little too much for granted through the tricky chicane that starts the lap, lost the
rear, and slammed hard into the wall.
Albon responded byaccepting his part inthe error,then brushingoff any
potential after-effects. He qualifiedwell, raced strongly, andhis openingweekend
passedwithout further setbacks. However, he felt thatracepace andjudgingjust
howhardto work the tyres andthe car were the main areasheneeded to workon.
He responded with hisfirst pointsfinish in Bahrain, before suffering another
practice crash in China. This onewas more costly. It prevented him from taking
part in qualifying, and meant he would start Sunday’s race from the pitlane. Toro
Rosso stood by him, and Albon thought he knew why: “It’s not like I wasslow, and
crashed.” He was beginning to push the limits.
Boosted bytheteam’s support, and faith in his own pace, Albon drove superbly
in Sunday’s grand prix. By the end of the day, he’d converted a pitlane start into
his second consecutive F1 pointsfinish – and he was awarded F1’s official driver of
the day accolade, too.
“Saturday I was maybe worst driver of the day,” he joked. “So it was nice to
come back strong on Sunday.”