Alex Albon News: Japanese GP Crash Raises Williams Chassis Concerns - ‘Before I Even Hit The Wall’

Alex Albon 'immediately' thought of the chassis before he hit the wall in his Japanese GP opening lap crash.

Alex Albon - Williams - Japanese GP / Williams Press Image

Alex Albon's collision in the Japanese GP highlighted immediate concerns about chassis damage for Williams, even before the impact occurred. The incident has put a significant strain on the team's spare parts production.

Key Takeaways:

• Albon was aware of the potential chassis damage to his Williams car before the collision in the Japanese GP.
• The impact was at relatively low speeds but the nature of the crash raised immediate concerns about the car's chassis.
• The incident adds to Williams' ongoing challenges with spare parts, with no spare chassis available until the Miami GP.

Alex Albon - Williams - Japanese GP / Williams Press Image

During the opening lap of the Japanese Grand Prix, a racing incident involving Alex Albon and Daniel Ricciardo culminated in a crash that not only brought out a red flag but also cast a spotlight on the precarious situation of Williams' spare parts inventory. Albon, reflecting on the moment just before the collision, expressed his immediate worry about the potential damage to his car's chassis, a concern that materialised even before the actual impact with the wall. He commented, as quoted by Autosport:

"Immediately [thought of the chassis situation]. Before I even hit the wall.

"It's exactly what we don't need. The impact itself was relatively low speeds, but it's the way that I hit the tyre wall. Normally, we have this kind of plastic barriers, the Armco. But this was much more dug in and it really stops very violently.

"They're the questions I'm worried about, not for me, [but] for the car, because that's where you can do damage.

"We haven't had the car back yet. We need to assess it, hopefully it's okay."

Alex Albon and Daniel Ricciardo come together at Turn 2 during the 2024 Japanese GP. Both drivers are out of their cars. / Formula One X

The incident unfolded as Albon attempted to navigate a tight racing line, finding himself in Ricciardo's blind spot. Despite trying to back off to avoid contact, the collision was inevitable. Albon continued:

"I had a grip advantage [on soft tyres], kind of surprised [with] the grip I had out of [Turn] 2, and was able to pull underneath him and have a good run into 3.

"More about just trying to get him a little bit off line [at Turn] 3 and try and find a way for 4, 5, 6, 7 - to see if I could upset his line a little bit.

"Obviously just one of them. He didn't see me, clearly. I tried to back out of it last minute.

"There was a moment where I realised he hadn't seen me here, the way he's pulling across, so I hit the brakes and tried to get out of it.

"But I was almost too far alongside him and he still was coming across, I couldn't avoid it."

Williams' predicament with spare parts has been exacerbated by this incident, with Albon acknowledging the team's tough situation. The absence of a spare car until the Miami Grand Prix adds another layer of complexity to the team's strategy and operational decisions in the forthcoming races. Albon concluded:

"It's no secret that we are having a tough time with it at the moment with the parts we've got.

"This is going to hurt us for sure."