Albon vows 'elbows out' Belgian GP after qualifying high
Albon recorded his season best qualifying result
Alex Albon has vowed to get his 'elbows out' in order to defend his season-best starting position from the chasing pack at the Belgian Grand Prix.
The Williams driver reached Q3 for the first time this year and, after penalties were applied to Max Verstappen, Charles Leclerc and Esteban Ocon, he was promoted from ninth to sixth on the Spa-Francorchamps grid.
"To be P6, elbows have to be out tomorrow," Albon told Sky Sports F1. "This isn't Monaco where it's quite easy to keep people behind."
Speaking further on the difficulties of protecting his position, he added: "It's a little bit unpredictable because no one has really done a proper race run this weekend with the weather.
"Normally our race pace is a little bit stronger than our qualifying pace but I'm not sure if starting P6 that will be the case.
"But we'll focus on ourselves. This track is not like Zandvoort. The quicker cars will be able to get past so we do need to bare that in mind."
Although championship protagonists Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc will line up 15th and 16th respectively, Albon expects to see the pair quickly appear in his mirrors on Sunday.
"We do have a slippery car which is always going to help us to stay in front but it's going to be a battle," said the Williams driver. "I think Max and Charles are going to be past everybody by lap five or so."
Related
More F1 news
Latest F1 news
Recommended by the editors
Austrian Grand Prix
F1 Practice Today: Austrian Grand Prix 2026 start times, schedule, TV channel and FREE live stream
F1 News & Gossip
Fernando Alonso 'leaning towards' big decision on his F1 future
Lewis Hamilton
How Lewis Hamilton survived late FIA inspection to keep Barcelona Grand Prix victory
Austrian Grand Prix
Mercedes bring Austrian Grand Prix upgrades after Lewis Hamilton 'reality check'
Races
-
Grand Prix of Australia 2026
-
Grand Prix of China 2026
-
Grand Prix of Japan 2026
-
Grand Prix of Bahrain 2026
-
Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 2026
-
Miami Grand Prix 2026
-
Grand Prix du Canada 2026
-
Grand Prix De Monaco 2026
-
Gran Premio de Barcelona-Catalunya 2026
-
Grand Prix of Austria 2026
-
Grand Prix of Great Britain 2026
-
Grand Prix of Belgium 2026
-
Grand Prix of Hungary 2026
-
Dutch Grand Prix 2026
-
Grand Prix of Italy 2026
-
Gran Premio de España 2026
-
Grand Prix of Azerbaijan 2026
-
Grand Prix of Singapore 2026
-
Grand Prix of the United States 2026
-
Gran Premio de la Ciudad de Mexico 2026
-
Grande Prêmio de São Paulo 2026
-
Las Vegas Grand Prix 2026
-
Qatar Grand Prix 2026
-
Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi 2026
Follow us on your favorite social media channel
Editorial & corporate information
Avenue HQ
10–12 East Parade
Leeds
LS1 2BH
United Kingdom Regional correspondence
View contact page