Monaco GP: Promising qualifying for Williams F1 Team

Alex Albon:
"I'm happy with P11 today. We left Q3 on the table which is a little frustrating, but my final lap was entirely on the limit. I clipped the barrier in sector 3 as I was pushing flat out and I lost a little bit of time but was able to get away with it. As a team, we took a different approach this weekend to try and get into the rhythm early after a series of tougher race weekends and missing out on track time, so we tried to keep it simple and just chip away and build on every session. This was a result of all the work we've done recently, so P11 and P12 are decent starting positions for tomorrow. The strategy for the race is looking like a one-stop so having a good start will be crucial to hopefully make up some positions and get into the points."

Carlos Sainz:
"On one hand, I’m impressed that I was able to make it out of Q1 as I had no choice but to go out on a set of used and cold tyres after the red flag, so it was probably one of the best laps I’ve ever done in that situation to make it cleanly into Q2. On the other hand, in Q2 I made some mistakes and experienced front locking in a few corners that lost me one or two tenths, and it just wasn’t good enough. We know it's tough to overtake in Monaco but we’re not too far from the top 10, so I’ll focus on having a good start and do my best to get back into the points."

James Vowles Team Principal:
"Qualifying in Monaco always brings excitement, and this year was no different. We saw exceptional qualifying from both drivers. With Carlos in Q1 it really was down to one lap with cold tyres, and he did a fantastic lap. Alex put it right on the limit in Q2, we're just missing a few milliseconds to get both cars into Q3. It was small, small details that may or may not have pushed us there, but across three races at very different tracks now we've been either in Q3 or knocking on the door of Q3 and that’s significant progress. I'm looking forward to the race tomorrow. There's still opportunity from where we are on the grid – two cars lined up ready to go.

I also want to say well done to the team. If you look at our car today, you'll notice significant differences in the rear wing area. That was work that was reacted to very quickly and delivered within around 18 hours. And that's exceptional, from aero development, stress work, production to on car. It just shows a willingness to find every millisecond and we will keep hunting it every week.

Separately I wish Fred Vasseur all the best in terms of recovery, and hopefully I get to catch up with him soon."