Alexander Albon has back-tracked on his radio complaint in F1 Singapore GP against Franco Colapinto, as Carlos Sainz adds his view.
It was not the start that Williams’ Albon wanted in F1 Singapore GP when he bogged down to 15th in the order. The culprit as per him was his teammate Colapinto, who took the inside line which in turn forced several cars to go slightly off on the run-off.
In fact, his move on the inside forced Yuki Tsunoda to take evasive action, which in turn put Sainz off and also Albon, as all three did lose places. On radio, the Thai racer was not so happy with the Argentine, but post-race he mellowed down after watching replays.
His race was short-lived anyhow after a power unit issue as he was left frustrated by missed chance to score. “I don’t know how it looked on the outside, but I think it was more just that no one could turn into the corner,” said Albon. “So, everyone concertinaed and basically had to go straight at Turn 1.
“I was on the outside and I paid the price [by having to take to the run-off]. I mean nothing really to criticise. In the end, it was just a bit unfortunate I was the one on the other side of the corner. It was a bit frustrating. I think the whole weekend has been a bit frustrating. Having a car that should have been Top 10 and we haven’t got that.
“If I am being honest, basically I couldn’t turn left because Carlos couldn’t, Yuki couldn’t, so it was just one of those. It is nothing serious. Regarding the DNF, honestly, we need to check, we thought maybe some debris. Upon review, there is no debris there, so I am not sure if it came out or if there is something more serious inside.”
Colapinto, meanwhile, didn’t have a clue if Albon had an issue with his move. He saw a space and went for it and got himself ahead of Sergio Perez. He eventually finished 11th and was left frustrated due to strategy call, where Williams pitted a lap later.
He felt points was possible as he was stuck behind Perez after the pit stop in a reverse situation. “I did the best start I could,” said Colapinto. “There was a pretty nice gap and I went for it. I don’t know. I only saw Tsunoda next to me. There was a space, and I went inside in the corner.
“There was no one on my right, and I left space on the right to the white line, and there was no one there. So, I don’t know. I didn’t see the replay yet. The race was a little frustrating of course, I did the best I could to finish in the Top 10, it was possible and should have been possible to finish in the Top 10.
“It was possible to keep Checo behind, it is a very difficult track to overtake. I think we just didn’t defend well, our position. It is very difficult to score a point in Singapore, it is not a good track for us and I just think we need to defend a little bit better. Not let these mistakes happen because by stopping a lap late, we lost a place in the points but it is what it is.
“We win and we lose together, and I think it was a very position race to keep learning things, to keep getting used to the car, the Formula 1 calendar and Formula 1 speed. My first race in Singapore, it is a pity to not finish in points after a tough race like that but it was difficult, we did the best we could and finished P11 which is still a decent result.”
The wildcard in this situation was Sainz, who had to apply his brakes to safeguard himself from crashing. He felt the aggression from Colapinto could have taken out couple of cars, but it was fine considering nothing happened eventually.
“Honestly, starting from the dirty side, I actually got a decent start,” he said. “But going into Turn 1, I think there was a Williams doing a bit of a banzai move. “I think it was Franco who almost took two or three of us out in front.
“Nothing, absolutely nothing happened, there was no accident. And obviously, with how much we have to play on the championship, I had to take avoiding action. And if not, I would have probably had a big contact from the Williams.”
Here’s race start: https://www.formula1.com/en/video/2024-singapore-grand-prix-norris-takes-the-lead-as-verstappen-fends-off-hamilton-on-the-race-start.1810898011988896734
Here’s Alexander Albon retiring: https://www.formula1.com/en/video/2024-singapore-grand-prix-albon-forced-to-retire-on-lap-17.1810920167715042091
Here’s how F1 Singapore GP panned out
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