Last week's Monaco Grand Prix proved difficult for everyone, with weather related delays and race interrupting incidents eventually leading to a shortened race. One driver who caught attention during the race was Williams’ Alex Albon, as the former Red Bull driver ignored blue flags for a lap and kept Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc behind him.

Albon defends his decision as, while he admits he was aware of the flags, he believes his pace was better that of the Ferrari man as he had changed to slick tyres earlier and had heat in his. 

“It’s tricky because basically we went out on slicks and we had a massive pace advantage,” Albon said. “It would take three corners to let [Leclerc] past and then I would have been straight away quick enough to re-overtake him again.

“I think in my eyes, for both of us it was quicker if I just stayed ahead because I would have pulled away from him straight away. That’s it really, it’s kind of one of those awkward situations.”

The young Williams man also discussed his performance throughout what he deemed a tricky weekend on the streets of Monaco, admitting that while a points finish would have been a tall order for the team, he does believe their pace was positive.

“Getting the brakes in the right window was very tricky out there today. We had decent pace in clean air, and then we picked up some issue in the front of the car at the end there so we had to box [to retire].

“So yeah, scruffy but I think as a whole as a weekend I think it would have been very tricky to score points. But I felt like we were much closer to the midfield and in general it was a positive weekend.

“We don’t know yet [what caused the retirement],” he  admitted. “I just felt something at the front of the car and it felt pretty bad so we had to box.”

Albon continued to praise the team's pace following a comment regarding his brief time during which he held the fastest lap of the race.

“Honestly our pace was good. I wasn’t just driving it like qualifying, I was managing everything and I was feeling strong with the car. We do have positives and we know race pace is a positive for us. As bleak as today was, the result was a step forward for us.”

When asked how he believes the team will perform next time out in Baku, Albon says he thinks their car’s straight line speed will be a positive on the Baku City Circuit.

“I think it’ll be okay for us, I think as a circuit goes. We’re quick on the straights and we’re good in the low speed corners. Maybe not as quick as other people but relative to our rivals. You never know of course.”