In the round-up: Williams’ tyre degradation was so severe that Alexander Albon had to make four pit stops and thinks it would have been quicker to do five.
In brief
Five-stopper would have been quicker – Albon
Alexander Albon said he suffered from serious tyre degradation after finishing the Spanish Grand Prix last, two laps down from the race leaders.
His tyres felt “really strange”, said Albon, after pitting four times. “On the laps to the grid I was already getting tyre deg and it was the same in the race,” Albon explained. “We did a four-stop but I could have done a five or six stop and it probably would have been quicker.
“There was just incredible degradation, I think I was 20kph slower than everyone else in turn three and turn nine, just struggling out there. We’re not normally that bad. I think there is something we just need to check because that wasn’t normal.”
Albon said he “couldn’t drive slow enough” to keep his tyres alive. “I was driving as slow as I could and the tyres were still going off. And not like a little bit, I was driving my first three laps two and a half, three seconds slower than I would normally and then it was still degrading massively. It was seconds [lost], straightaway after the first lap.
“So it was a bit strange. As I said, it’s not normal. The deg was high and we expected that but today was indeed a bit strange.”
Spanish Grand Prix “one of the hardest races I’ve ever done” for ill Norris
Lando Norris drove the Spanish Grand Prix after being extremely unwell all weekend in Barcelona, diagnosed with tonsillitis by McLaren team doctors after the race.
The McLaren driver said it had been one of the most difficult races he had ever competed in. “Today was tough. I was feeling really unwell before the race as I’m suffering with tonsillitis, and that, in combination with the high temperatures, made this one of the hardest races I’ve ever done.
“I’ve…