'Tyre whisperer' Albon makes surprise point for Williams

MELBOURNE : Williams driver Alex Albon was praised as the "tyre whisperer" by his team after lasting 56 laps on the same set of hard compound rubbers to finish 10th at the Australian Grand Prix on Sunday after starting at the back of the grid.

Albon's epic run on the first set of tyres helped secure Williams their first championship point of the season.

Staying on track despite multiple safety car periods, Albon pitted on the penultimate lap at Albert Park to switch to soft tyres.

That allowed several cars to pass him but he sneaked in front of Alfa Romeo's Zhou Guanyu and held on to 10th through the final lap.

"Just call him the tyre whisperer," Williams said on their social media account.

Albon's small triumph came after a difficult race week for Williams, with Nicholas Latifi's car suffering heavy damage after a collision with Aston Martin's Lance Stroll during qualifying.

Albon carried a three-place grid penalty to Melbourne after colliding with Stroll at the previous race in Saudi Arabia.

Albon was then disqualified from qualifying on Saturday over a fuel rule breach.

There were jubilant scenes in the Williams garage as Albon crossed the line, and the British-born Thai said the result was completely unexpected.

"We haven't had the greatest start to the season and it really means a lot," he said in the Albert Park paddock.

"We never thought points were available today but here we are with a point. So, super happy."

Latifi came 16th out of the 17 cars that finished, having taken a two-stop tyre strategy.

"Getting the point is worth all the efforts and all the pain we went through this weekend," said Williams team principal Jost Capito.

(Reporting by Ian Ransom in Melbourne; Editing by Ed Osmond)