Alexander Albon was one of the first to bet on dry tires at the Monaco GP, and because he gained the advantage in terms of pace, he thought he would be faster if he stayed ahead of Charles Leclerc, even after being awarded the blue flag
The Monaco GP was totally backwards for Charles Leclerc, who saw his chances of victory buried not only by Ferrari's mistaken strategy, but also by the time lost behind Alexander Albon, who was lagging behind, after the first pit-stop. The Williams driver, however, gave his version about the fact that he didn't respect the blue flag, explaining that, because he had put slicks tires, he believed he would have more pace than #16.
It all happened during the first round of pit-stops, when the Monaco track started to dry out. Albon was one of those who risked slicks, while Leclerc was more conservative and went out on intermediates. The second-place World Championship leader came back behind the Thai and was warned by the team that he would get the blue flag, but Albon did not make way. This cost Leclerc an important time which, together with Ferrari's disastrous double stop in the next window, dropped the Monegasque to fourth place.
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"It's complicated, because we went out on slicks and gained a huge advantage in terms of pace. But it would take about three corners to let him pass and then immediately be fast enough to overtake him again," said Albon, who acknowledged that the decision not to open up for Leclerc was "one of those awkward situations."
"The way I see it, I would be faster if I stayed in front, because I was going to open from him almost immediately. That's it. I thought that if it was okay and I let him pass, I would overtake him again," added the driver, who only got out of the Monegasque's way when he went straight through at Saint Dévote, a full lap later.
Leclerc complained a lot on the radio, so much so that Ferrari questioned the race management in Monaco for not punishing both Albon and Nicholas Latifi - who also ignored the blue flag for a long time when he was ahead of Carlos Sainz. In the end, the Thai driver abandoned on lap 48, while the Canadian completed the race in 15th.