Albon questions delayed DRS call in Imola

Alex Albon believes he may have finished in the points for Williams in the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix if DRS had been enabled earlier in the race on Sunday.

The race was run in drying conditions yet DRS remained inactive until lap 34 prior to which he feels he had the pace to benefit from it. When it was enabled he was at the mercy of those behind him.

After finishing just outside the points in 11th, he said: “Honestly, I wanted [DRS] to come in earlier because we had six or seven laps where I was a lot quicker than the cars in front.

“I knew with our downforce level we could overtake these cars with DRS and I was a bit frustrated that it took so long to come in. Once it did come in, I was wishing it didn’t come in!

“I can understand why they don’t want to risk it. There was a big crash here last year [involving George Russell and Valtteri Bottas] so I am sure that plays on their minds.

"I think we need a bit of a revision, maybe a DRS on the straight before the last two corners as well.”

Williams “as good as Melbourne” – Albon

After starting 18th, Albon was at least content again with the pace of his car two weeks on from finishing 10th in the Australian Grand Prix after starting last.

“I was really happy with it," added Albon. "I felt like it was just as good as Melbourne for me.

“We maximised all we could do, we overtook some cars on track with pace and we had a low downforce configuration for the weekend, which is not fun for the others but for us, it kept us in front.

“We don’t have the fastest car out there but we’re making the most of our opportunities.

"It’s a shame we missed out on points but it just shows you we are taking opportunities and doing things differently and we almost made it work again.”

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