Albon “sorry and disappointed” after his big off-track excursion
Alex Albon was in an ideal position to score big points before a small mistake ended his race and caused the first red flag of the day.
This will remain as one of the moments of the weekend: Alex Albon’s high-speed off-track excursion, which caused the first red flag of the day. Watching the images, one might get the impression that the Anglo-Thai driver simply lost control of his Williams due to excessive speed.
A heartbreaking end to Alex Albon’s promising Grand Prix weekend 💔#AusGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/yueJ1Ylpao
— Formula 1 (@F1) April 2, 2023
But at the end of the race, the team explained that in fact, their driver had hit the high-speed rumble strip at the previous turn (Turn 5), which caused a rise in temperature in their tire. This resulted in a loss of grip during the next turn and therefore, the spinout. We are still analyzing the data, but there was nothing unusual about the turn itself. When I lost control of the car, I was going slower than on the previous lap. I went wide in the previous turn, which caused a spike in tire temperature. I lost grip and entered the next turn a bit too hot. I think that’s what happened, but we need to take a closer look.
The team therefore leaves Australia frustrated as it was a great opportunity for points that flew away, even though it had managed to secure eighth position on the grid fair and square. « With all the accidents, we had a good chance of scoring points this weekend. I am truly sorry for the team. I am disappointed because we had a very good car and were really strong. »
Williams could not find solace in his second car as Logan Sargeant was among the victims of the penultimate restart, ending up in the gravel trap after colliding with Nyck de Vries’ AlphaTauri. However, his race had already been severely compromised by the strategy that put him on medium tires after the first safety car period.
