Williams without a point for the first time since Bahrain
Williams were expecting a difficult weekend in Spain, a circuit that has never really suited their car. But their Sunday turned into a nightmare: Alex Albon retired after breaking two front wings, while Carlos Sainz finished at the back of the grid after also losing his wing.
The day started badly for the team: both drivers damaged their front wing right from the start.
A difficult race for Albon
Alex Albon, already having a poor start and losing several places, suffered damage from contact with a Sauber.
He dropped to the back of the field after an early stop to change his wing, quickly joined by his teammate, who also had to make a lengthy stop to replace his. Alex Albon then collided with Liam Lawson during an extended battle for position.
Result: a new broken wing – the third of the day – and the team decided to retire the car after he received a 10-second penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage during his duel with Liam Lawson.
“I don’t remember everything to be honest, it was a bit of a chaotic race,” said Alex Albon after the race. “We had an issue with the clutch at the start, so we lost places. Then there was contact at turn 1 that damaged the wing.”
« I believe a Haas in front had to avoid a collision. And then with Liam, I don’t think the Racing Bulls had great top speed, so they were attempting bold overtakes, which is normal. But I didn’t deserve the penalty – I had to avoid him to prevent a crash, he launched a bit too late. And in the second case, I moved aside, I knew he was going to try on the outside but I had no more tires… That’s how it is, we’ll try to get back on track for Canada », he explains.
A painful 14th place for Carlos Sainz
On his side, the Spaniard finished 14th, nearly 30 seconds behind the leaders despite the late neutralization by the safety car.
« When the car was in open air and with an intact wing, it was fine – nothing extraordinary, as expected this weekend – but we had damage from the first lap. We also had a very slow stop because of that, and an overheating engine for most of the race », he explained.
« Nothing went in our favor, we were stuck in the middle of nowhere. The few laps in clean air showed decent pace, but it was too late.
This is the first time Carlos Sainz has not scored points at his home Grand Prix, ending a streak that began with his debut in 2015.
This result also puts an end to the series of points finishes for Williams, which had enjoyed four consecutive Grand Prix with at least one driver in the top 10. But since Haas also did not score, Williams remains fifth in the championship, now closely followed by Racing Bulls, which has overtaken the American team in the midfield battle.
