The first seven laps in 14th place at Imola were the best Alex Albon could do on the track. Then Williams called him for an early pit stop – and made a big mistake. The right front wheel was not tightened. Albon didn’t just receive a penalty for this. He was even threatened with a second one for a dangerous situation that this caused.
There was no question that the wheel was loose. Somewhere in the process, something had gone wrong with the front right tire changer. He tried to start again, but by then the release signal had already been sent. The traffic light turned green before the error could be corrected and Albon was back on the road.
“As soon as I turned off the pit limiter, there was a vibration and I knew something was wrong,” explains Albon after the race. In the Tamburello chicane he had already reported on the radio: “One tire is not properly tight.” This falls into a crystal clear article of the sporting regulations Formula 1: 34.14 d), release of a car in an unsafe condition. Penalty: 10 seconds stop-and-go. Which Albon also got shortly afterwards and sat down.
Albon faces a second penalty after a problem round
But that’s a problem now. Because a driver actually has to stop the car as soon as he realizes that a tire has not been tightened. Given that the tire is a fire hazard if it separates completely from the car on a race track. A driver who knows that the tire is not tight and continues to drive will be subject to a further penalty in accordance with paragraph e) of the above paragraph.
Albon knew from the first chicane that the tire was loose, but drove back to the pits anyway. He was overtaken by half the field, including the leading group, who he was only just able to avoid in the Alta variant. The stewards promptly announced a further investigation after the race.
This time Albon was personally present and defended himself. He knew something was wrong, but from his position it didn’t look like a “classic loose wheel, not fixed by the wheel nut.” Rather, he heard a metallic grinding noise, reported that something was wrong, and cautiously came to the pits.
The stewards give him credit for this caution and the fact that he avoided all competitors well. Albon also explains that the wheel nut was still on, just not tight enough: “When you got into the corner you could see if the tire was going to fall off. But it just slipped to a point and then stopped. I could see that it was quite safe.” That’s probably why it was possible to send the release signal at all. Precisely because the mother was at least half solid. The stewards ultimately did not impose any further punishment.
Williams also a problem case in Imola
Either way, Albon was punished enough with this race. The original problem set him back a lap. Serving the sto-and-go penalty is a second. From then on he only used the race as additional training to experiment with brake settings and to better understand the braking feel of the new Williams, which had previously been somewhat problematic. After 51 laps it finally stopped prematurely.
After seven races, Williams is still without points. Albon practices constructive optimism: “The midfield doesn’t exactly score an incredible number of points. It’s not like we’re falling behind and can’t catch up with them.” And the team has a plan, assures Albon. The car is too heavy. Once you reach the minimum weight, things should look better straight away.