Williams Racing recorded their best result for three years over the weekend, with our first double points finish of the season.
Alex Albon went long on his first stint to secure a P7 finish at the flag, whilst Franco Colapinto finished just behind him in P8, locking in his maiden F1 points.
Having just picked up 10 points, you will be unsurprised to hear that there was some very positive chat over the team radio after 51 laps of the Baku City Circuit.
James Urwin (JU), Alex’s Race Engineer, was quick to congratulate our No23 over the airwaves, and was soon joined by Team Principal James Vowles (JV).
AA: Well done everyone!
JU: Alrighty! Nice job mate, nice job. P7!
AA: Yeeeeeah!
JU: That’s P7, Franco P8. Great team effort.
JV: Alex, absolutely incredible - well done! P7 and well earned. It was a brilliant race, executed well from start to finish. We’ll add more performance and we’ll keep moving forward, but amazing. Really, really happy!
AA: Yeah, well done everyone. When I saw how few people went with hards [tyres] I was a little worried, but we made it work.
JV: We have some more work to do, but we’re going the right way.
AA: It was a very good pit stop as well, so well done - it was really good.
JU: And breathe! Lovely job mate, well done. Well deserved.
AA: Yeah, really happy… we worked for that one haha! It’s nice when it goes to plan.
JU: P9 or bust ended up becoming P7, not bad.
Gaetan Jego (GJ), Franco’s Race Engineer, was full of positivity for our No43, after making history by becoming the first Argentine Formula 1 racer to score points since Carlos Reutemann did so for Williams in 1982.
As with Alex, James Vowles was also quick to praise Franco for an excellent drive around a circuit he had never previously visited.
GJ: Take the flag… P8, P8!
FC: Wow guys, bravo bravo! Oh my god, mate! Oh this is an amazing result for us, oh my god! Well done on keeping Hamilton behind as well. It was tough, but a nice job. When we woke up those front tyres, they started to work much better. Lovely job!
GJ: Yeah, that was good. Congratulations! Hell of a first weekend, hell of a last two weekends - Monza, Azerbaijan - was amazing! You’ve been everything and more, and you’re getting what you deserve. You’re proving your seat in Formula 1, to be honest, over these last two race weekends. Stellar job throughout this weekend on a track you didn’t know, where the tyres are not easy, where everybody got caught and a lot of guys made mistakes in these low grip, dirty conditions, you did amazing. Taking in every session, improving. Stellar job on Saturday, stellar job today. P8 mate, first points in Formula 1! Congrats!
FC: Haha, bravo bravo! I’m really happy mate. Thank you so much, we did a great job together. It's nice to get very good points for the team, I’m very proud of you guys. Thanks again for fixing the car on Friday.
JV: Vamos, Franco! Vamos!
FC: Haha!
JV: Well done. [I’m] just really, really proud of you. That’s a weekend you executed perfectly from start to finish. You finished just behind Alex on a different strategy, you managed tyres again in a difficult situation. You are now a Williams Grand Prix driver with points to your name. That will never change, no one can take that away from you. Well done!
FC: Thank you, James. Thank you so much, mate! I am so happy for these points, for giving a little back to the team after you guys gave me trust. I’m so so happy. Let’s keep going in Singapore. Another nice challenge, but I am sure we can do a good job there as well.
JV: We definitely can. When you go into the factory, you’re going to see a sign that we put up that has your name on it and your points on it. Well done, I can’t wait to see how we move forward together.
FC: Me too! I saw the sign last week and I think that was the biggest motivation to get points this weekend, I wanted my name there and not only Alex’s!
The banner on display outside our Grove HQ
Both Alex and Franco will be back behind the wheel this weekend when we head to the Marina Bay Circuit for the Singapore Grand Prix.
Celebrate our Baku points!
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