Alex Albon is leaving from the pit lane for the Sprint race
While he qualified at the bottom of the Sprint race, Alex Albon will finally start from the pit lane this Saturday.
Tough break for Alex Albon! The Thai driver from Williams will not start the F1 Miami Sprint race from 19th position as initially planned. Indeed, the FIA has confirmed that Albon will start the race from the pit lane following adjustments made to his car setup in the Parc Fermé.
Albon had seen his lap time in SQ1 canceled for exceeding track limits, relegating him to 19th place on the starting grid for the F1 Sprint. However, the Williams team decided to seize the opportunity to make modifications to the FW46’s suspension before the race, hoping to improve its performance.
Unfortunately, this strategic choice comes with a price: by making these changes while the car was in Parc Fermé, Albon is forced to start the Sprint race from the pit lane. This penalty seriously compromises his chances of moving up the rankings.
This new setback adds to an already complicated weekend for Williams. Albon’s teammate, Logan Sargeant, will start from 18th position, while Valtteri Bottas, Alfa Romeo driver, has been penalized for impeding Oscar Piastri during the sprint qualifiers, and will therefore start from 20th place.
