Franco Calapinto Reacts to Alex Albon's Harsh Words Over Singapore Start

Alex Harrington | 4 Hours Ago

Nov 15, 2023; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; Williams Racing driver Alexander Albon of Thailand speaks during media availabilities at Las Vegas Strip Circuit. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images / Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

The Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix witnessed a dramatic opening that saw the Williams drivers Alex Albon and Franco Calapinto clash on the first corner. The tension erupted during the first turn as Calapinto dived down the inside, catapulting him past several cars, including Yuki Tsunoda, Carlos Sainz, and Albon. Albon was pushed wide by the aggressive move, and voiced his frustration over the team radio, taking a pointed shot at his teammate: "Franco just divebombed. What's he doing?"

The Thai-British driver fell back to P15 while Colapinto surged ahead. And while Albon was outwardly annoyed by what happened, he eventually changed his view after the race.

"I don't know how it looked on the outside," Albon recollected via Motorsport.com, "But I think it was more just that no one could turn into the corner. So, everyone concertinaed and basically had to go straight at turn one. I was on the outside and I paid the price by having to take to the run-off."

Reflecting further, Albon softened his initial critique, taking the blame off of his rookie teammate:

"I mean nothing really to criticize. It was just a bit unfortunate I was the one on the other side of the corner."

Later in the race, Albon's car suffered overheating issues and was retired before his race got started.

On the other side of the pit, Franco Calapinto stood by his move. Regarding Albon's criticism, Calapinto offered his side of the story:

"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."

Despite finishing in a respectable 11th place, Calapinto wasn't happy with how his strategy came to fruition, with him missing out on an undercut:

"Because just by stopping a lap too late, we lost the place in the points. But it is what it is. We win and we lose together."

Carlos Sainz, who narrowly avoided the chaos initiated by the aggressive dive and will be joining the Grove team next year alongside Albon, also weighed in on how it affected his start.

"For starting on the dirty side, I didn't get a bad start. I think I got off relatively well. But then braking into Turn 1, I obviously had to watch out for Charles [Leclerc] in front and then a Williams came up the inside, braking very late.

"I think it was Franco who almost took two or three of us out in front. Nothing, absolutely nothing happened, there was no accident, but when you are fighting for the constructors' championship with the team, you have to be a bit more careful with cars that have less to lose and that have their lives at stake at the start. When you are playing for so many points with the team, you have to be more careful."