Photo Credit: Williams Racing
Following a poor finish at the Miami Autodrome, Alex Albon continued his ‘below par’ form on Imola grounds as well. His performance today was already hinted by his mediocre lap-logging at the quali.
During the first laps of the race, the British-Thai racer suffered a ‘loosely-bolt’ wheel situation. Consequently, he had to fall back to the pit stop in a very ‘unsafe’ manner. This caused the race stewards to fine him with a 10-second penalty and further post-race investigations. However, from what it appears, the situation has just taken a new twist.
Alex Albon dismissed from further stewards’ investigation after 2024 Imola GP
As the lights went out at Imola, Alex Albon faced a slow run from his P14 start. But things took a surprising turn at Lap 10 when he radioed that one of his tires was loosely bolted. Then, at Lap 12, he ‘unsafely’ moved back to the pit lane. Because of this, the race stewards handed him a 10-second penalty at Lap 23.
Afterwards, at Lap 55, he was forced to retire his Williams FW46. But things were about to get worse as further ‘post-race’ investigations were heading his way.
The FIA has reported that the “race stewards will take no further actions” against Albon. It states that his post-race explanation backs up his in-car video and radio communication.
The stewards’ report reads as:
“The Stewards accepted Albon’s explanation, which was supported by in-car video, that while he knew something was wrong with the car, it did not look from his position to be a classic loose wheel, not captured by the wheel nut. Rather, Albon heard a metallic scraping noise, reported that something was wrong and drove the car carefully to the pits.”
– Race Stewards of the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari (Imola ciruit).
Reflecting on Albon ‘alleged unsafe’ fall back, the stewards quote:
“The Stewards agreed that this was accomplished in a safe and appropriate manner, without affecting any other competitor and that the driver did not drive the car knowing it to be in an unsafe condition. The Stewards take no further action.”
– Race Stewards of the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari (Imola ciruit).
These decisions from the race stewards come after Albon was seen discussing the situation in the post-race media session.
Albon in agreement with the 10-second penalty
In a post-GP interview, Alex Albon admitted that he deserved to be penalized for violating Article 34.14d of F1’s sporting rules that govern teams releasing cars in an unsafe condition during a race.
Talking about it after the race, which was Verstappen’s 59th win, Albon said:
“I didn’t feel it [loose bolt] coming down the pits, but as soon as I took the pit limiter off there was like a vibration and I could tell something was wrong,”
– Alex Albon after the 2024 Emilia Romagna GP
Reflecting on his alleged ‘unsafe’ release to the pitstop. he added:
“When I was turning around corners, you could see if the tyre was gonna fall off. But it would only go to a point and stop. I could see it was quite safe. There was only about 10mm of movement on the tyre.”
– Alex Albon after the 2024 Emilia Romagna GP
Williams F1 is still to provide follow-up on this situation. This team, led by their British-Thai #1 racer, will now take on the Circuit de Monaco on May 26. The 2024 Monaco GP race is officially scheduled to kick-off at 15:00 CEST.
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