Remarkable tire strategy Albon causes surprise at Pirelli

Alexander Albon caused a stir with his performance in the Australian Grand Prix. Not only did he advance from twentieth to tenth place, but he drove the entire race on the same set of tires. Only on the last lap did he make his (mandatory) pit stop, with which he even managed to surprise tire supplier Pirelli.

Due to his disqualification on Saturday, Albon was forced to start from the last place on the grid. Partly due to the disappointing performance of Williams and the other Mercedes-powered teams, expectations were not too high, but Albon drove a great race in which he managed to fight his way back to P10.

In the process, he completed no less than 57 laps on the same set of hard tires, then came in for his mandatory tire change on the last lap of the race. Even Pirelli didn't see it coming that the tires would perform like this, according to Mario Isola in a press statement on the official website of the tire supplier.

The Pirelli boss is surprised by the longevity of the C2 tire. "Albon underlined the endurance of this compound by completing 57 laps on it," he says. "A very long hard stint enabled him to get from last on the grid into the points."