Title: Alex Albon’s Impressive Comeback at the Canadian Grand Prix
Summary:
Alex Albon’s performance at the Canadian Grand Prix was nothing short of remarkable. After a six-race drought without points, Albon not only secured Williams’ best result of the year, but also achieved his personal best since George Russell’s second-place finish at the 2021 Belgian Grand Prix. Former Aston Martin strategist Bernie Collins sheds light on Albon and Williams’ success in this race.
I. Strategy Variations and Qualifying Performance
– The Canadian Grand Prix saw seven tire strategy variations, with most drivers opting for medium and hard tires.
– Albon started ninth on the grid but set the fastest time in the Q2 qualifying segment, showcasing his skills.
– While others were still using intermediate tires, Albon made a brilliant decision to switch to slicks, grabbing the lead in Q2.
II. Gains and Losses in the Race
– Despite losing positions to faster cars such as Charles Leclerc, Carlos Sainz, and Sergio Pérez, Albon managed to overtake McLarens and Esteban Ocon.
– He also benefited from George Russell’s retirement after hitting the wall and Nico Hulkenberg’s drop in pace.
– Albon’s crucial gains over the McLaren and Ocon drivers made a significant difference in securing the six points for Williams.
III. Circuit and Pit Stop Strategy
– Circuit Gilles Villeneuve has the shortest pit-loss time of the year, making pit stops essential for optimizing strategies.
– Overtaking is challenging due to high passing thresholds and low tire degradation, prompting teams to find clear air and maintain track position.
– A Safety Car deployment on lap 12 allowed Albon to make a pit stop and adopt a two-stop strategy while others committed to it later.
IV. Albon’s Unique Tire Strategy
– Williams decided to have Albon run the entire race on the tires he had just fitted, which meant a 40+ lap stint.
– Albon controlled his pace to preserve grip and tire life, expecting significant degradation towards the end of the run.
– The graph displaying fuel-corrected lap times indicates Albon’s consistent pace, allowing him to match Ocon’s lap times despite the latter’s initial speed advantage.
V. Williams’ Advantage and Effective Defense
– Williams’ upgrades, low downforce package, and new power unit gave Albon superior straight-line speed.
– Albon strategically used power unit modes and battery deployment to defend against Ocon on the backstretch.
– The combination of track position gained from one less pit stop, good straight-line speed, and solid defense enabled Albon to finish seventh.
Additional Piece:
Title: Unlocking Success: The Perfect Combination of Strategy and Teamwork
In Formula 1, success is often the result of a perfect combination of strategy and teamwork. The Canadian Grand Prix showcased how Williams, with their well-thought-out tire strategy and Albon’s skillful driving, seized a fantastic opportunity and delivered an impressive result.
1. Crafting a Unique Strategy:
– Williams’ decision to have Albon complete the race on the same set of tires seemed unconventional, even to the driver himself.
– By controlling his pace at the start and expecting tire degradation in the later stages, Albon maximized the potential of his fresh rubber.
2. Leveraging Circuit Characteristics:
– Circuit Gilles Villeneuve’s unique pit-stop dynamics presented the perfect opportunity for teams to consider alternative strategies.
– Williams capitalized on the shorter pit-loss time and strategically planned their tire changes, gaining an edge over their rivals.
3. The Importance of Teamwork:
– Williams’ strategic decisions were the outcome of collaboration and data analysis by their team of strategists.
– Bernie Collins, a former Aston Martin strategist, provided valuable insights, contributing to the team’s success in formulating the winning strategy.
4. Albon’s Exemplary Performance:
– Albon’s exceptional qualifying lap, which topped the charts in Q2, showcased his talent and laid the foundation for his success in the race.
– Despite facing pressure from faster cars, he showcased his defensive skills and utilized the Williams’ straight-line speed advantage to hold his position.
5. Building Momentum and Progress:
– Williams’ stellar performance and the crucial six points earned in Canada propelled them forward in the Constructors’ Championship standings.
– With the gap narrowing to teams ahead of them, Williams is poised to continue their upward trajectory and challenge for higher positions.
The Canadian Grand Prix not only highlighted the importance of making bold strategic decisions but also demonstrated the value of teamwork in Formula 1. By capitalizing on circuit characteristics, harnessing their driver’s potential, and executing a unique tire strategy, Williams and Albon showcased their determination, skill, and ability to achieve outstanding results.
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Alex Albon was one of the featured performers at the Canadian Grand Prix, setting the fastest time of all in the Q2 qualifying segment, before moving from ninth on the grid to P7 at the checkered flag, which is not only the Williams’ best result of the year, but his best result since George Russell took second at the rain-affected 2021 Belgian Grand Prix.
So how did Albon and Williams achieve such an impressive result after six races out of points? Former Aston Martin strategist Bernie Collins explains all…
The race in Montreal featured no fewer than seven tire strategy variations, most on medium and hard tyres. Sixteen drivers chose to start on medium, with all but Albon and both Ferraris completing a two-stop strategy (as the graphic below shows).
Albon started the race from P9 after a brilliant performance in qualifying which saw him lead Q2 by going one lap on slicks while others were still using intermediate tyres.
And despite losing positions in the race to the fastest cars of Charles Leclerc, Carlos Sainz and Sergio Pérez (who started behind him), he managed gain places above McLarens and Esteban Ocon, all three in faster cars and having started ahead of him on the grid.
He also made additional gains on George Russell, who hit the wall on lap 12 and then retired while running behind Albon, and Nico Hulkenberg, whose race pace did not match his qualifying speed and saw him drop down the order.
But it was the gains over both the McLaren and Ocon drivers that made the difference between not scoring and those crucial six points for Albon.
Circuit Gilles Villeneuve has the shortest pit-loss time of the year (meaning a driver spends less time pitting here than at any other race), meaning team strategists are more likely to consider pit stops in additional pits if the strategies are closed.
However, a high passing threshold combined with low tire degradation makes overtaking difficult, leading teams to try to find clear air for their drivers and then maintain track position.
On lap 12, when Russell collided with the wall at the exit of turn 9, the Safety Car was deployed, allowing all drivers to make a pit stop and lose even less time than usual. That immediately led a large number of teams to commit to the two-stop strategy, which until then had a very similar race time to the optimal one-stop strategy.
The graph above shows ‘free air racing’ without the influence of traffic or the pace of cars. It simply shows the difference in race time through tire selection and the pit lap.
It shows the tire strategy completed by Albon (blue) and Ocon (pink) against the post-race optimum (red). The graph would show a flat horizontal line if a driver completed the same lap time every lap. Moving up shows one lap faster than this average lap and the steep drop down represents a pit stop.
Of the 16 drivers who started on the medium tyre, all but the two Ferraris chose to stop under this Safety Car and therefore looked set to complete the race on a two-stop strategy.
At the Safety Car restart, Albon was sitting in P12 with (aside from Hulkenberg), faster cars in front of him. That meant it was unlikely that he would complete the same strategy as them that would allow him to gain positions and reach the points.
So instead, Williams told Albon that they wanted him to run to the end of the race on the tires he had just fitted, a 40+ lap stint.
Albon later admitted that he thought the team was “crazy” for trying, but nonetheless, initially in post-Safety Car traffic, he began to control his pace in an attempt to make it work.
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As you can see in the graph above (with the blue line arcing towards the end), the degradation was expected to be significant at the end of the run.
Therefore, Albon controlled the pace at the start, to try and have more grip available towards the end.
P7 Albon thought his team was ‘crazy’ for the Canadian GP strategy
The chart below shows the fuel corrected lap times for Albon and Ocon after the Safety Car to the end of the race.
This clearly shows that the fast lap times Ocon was achieving after the Safety Car (around laps 20-25) dropped off rapidly to match Albon’s lap times.
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When Ocon pits again on lap 36 and emerges into the open, he is much quicker again, until he catches up with Russell and Albon again on lap 48.
Meanwhile, Albon was controlling the pace at a virtually constant lap time throughout. This allowed him tire life and pace to hold his own in the later stages of the race from the faster cars.
Williams’ car was also ideal for defending at the Montreal circuit. Some big upgrades, a low downforce package and a new power unit allowed Albon superior straight-line speed compared to his rivals. The following table shows the top speeds of Albon and Ocon.
Additionally, Albon used the power unit modes to defend on the backstretch towards the chicane by using battery deployment on this stretch and saving some battery usage in other areas where they felt safe to defend.
Therefore, despite others being quicker on the lap, Albon’s speed down the final straight allowed him to defend and hold seventh to the flag, even on very old tyres.
Completing one fewer pit stop to gain track position, combined with good straight-line speed and strong defense, gained four positions over Ocon, both McLarens and Valtteri Bottas, compared to completing the same two-stop strategy as others. .
It was an excellent display of teamwork from Williams to score some very valuable points, meaning they jump ahead of AlphaTauri in the constructors championship – and they are just one point behind Haas in P8 and two points behind Alfa Romeo in seventh.
How Alex Albon delivered his best Williams result at the 2023 Canadian Grand Prix
https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article.strategy-unpacked-how-albon-beat-a-host-of-faster-cars-in-canada-to-seal.5y9R94fw5GfDDe5aTnl2mY.html
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