Alex Albon had Lewis Hamilton "flashbacks" ahead of ending podium drought

Alex Albon

Albon had Hamilton "flashbacks" ahead of ending podium drought

Ian Parkes

Monday 14 September 2020 08:44

Alex Albon has revealed to suffering flashbacks of his two collisions with Lewis Hamilton as he made the defining move that secured him the first podium of his Formula 1 career.

Starting from fifth on the grid at the second restart of the Tuscan Grand Prix, and with 14 laps remaining, Albon soon despatched Racing Point's Sergio Perez before then hunting down Daniel Ricciardo in his Renault.

On lap 51 of the 59, Albon surged past the Australian around the outside of turn one, but it was not without an anxious moment as thoughts reverted back to the clashes with Hamilton in Brazil last year, and again in this season's opening race in Austria that cost him a podium.

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On this occasion, Albon's breathtaking move was clean, enabling him to claim third behind a Mercedes one-two spearheaded by Hamilton.

But recalling the moment he moved on Ricciardo, Albon said: "I had the Lewis flashbacks going into the corner, but Daniel left enough space and it was all okay.

"We [Red Bull] have been good in the last sector all weekend and that’s really important for a circuit where there’s only one place to overtake and that’s turn one.

"The Renaults are quick down the straights so I didn’t catch him as quick as I thought I would, and it was kind of like a last-minute dive on the outside.

"Of course, I was a little worried, but I left enough space and Daniel gave me enough room and I went past."

Albon was naturally relieved to get a monkey off his back in what was his 30th race, and 18th with Red Bull.

"It was nice to finally get that podium but under the circumstances as well. It was a tricky race," added Albon.

"We weren’t very good off the line so a lot of the overtakes had to be on the track. It made it exciting.

"We had a really good car and fortunately we were able to extract it and do the overtakes when we needed to."

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