DAMS got its 2018 FIA Formula 2 Championship campaign underway in Bahrain, as new driver Alexander Albon took a strong fourth-place finish in the Feature Race. The Thai-British youngster came home 13th in the Sprint Race, while team-mate Nicholas Latifi finished just outside the points on both occasions.
“The weekend started off really well, we were up to speed straight away, and if it wasn’t for a small mistake in qualifying we could have on the front row, but third was a good result. Our pace on Saturday was really good, and we were unlucky not to be on the podium, but in the Sprint Race we struggled with the start like many others. There’s work to do, but there are positives we can take from the weekend.”
Alexander Albon
“I was probably a bit too conservative in the early part of the weekend, but we were still unlucky with traffic in qualifying, which cost us a much better position. In race one I was able to make up places, but we could have got further up the order with better tyre management. On Sunday, we ran a much stronger pace, but it was a shame that we had to work much harder after starting from the pit-lane.”
Nicholas Latifi
“It was a mixed weekend for us, Alex did a nice job in practice and qualifying, while Nicholas was unfortunate to catch traffic on his faster lap. On Saturday, Alex was close to being on the podium, which shows we’re competitive with our rivals, while Nicholas nearly salvaged points after a good recovery drive. In race two, Nicholas was unlucky to stall, which put him out of position, while Alex also struggled with the start. It’s something we will go away and analyse before the next round.”
François Sicard, Managing Director