In a dramatic turn at Suzuka, Alex Albon and Daniel Ricciardo’s collision forces both out of the race, highlighting a tense F1 moment.
Alex Albon’s race came to an abrupt halt at the third turn of the Suzuka circuit following a collision with Daniel Ricciardo, who veered into him. Both drivers hit the wall and were summoned to the stewards to explain the incident.
“I didn’t get off to a great start, but it was better than those on medium tires,” Albon shared. “I had better traction coming out of turn 2, I don’t think Daniel saw me, and we touched. I tried to slow down but couldn’t get out of it quickly enough.”
“It’s hard to accept, we’re not in a good position with the team regarding damage and parts, so it’s very frustrating and disappointing. We’ll need to bounce back and be ready for the Chinese Grand Prix.”
Albon is concerned about the damage to his car, as the team has been involved in accidents since the Australian Grand Prix. He hopes the tire barrier hasn’t caused too much damage to his FW46.
“Honestly, it wasn’t a major accident, but the way I hit the wall, and it being a tire wall like you don’t see much in F1 anymore, worries me because the car went deep and stopped quickly. I couldn’t really see it because it was under the tires but I’m hoping it’ll be okay.”
Ricciardo acknowledges a “traction difference”
Daniel Ricciardo admits he didn’t leave enough space for Albon, but he explains that he was suffering from a lack of traction due to his medium tires. This led to his mistake.
“There was a concertina effect in front of us, the cars ahead on mediums were doing well, but Yuki and I had a bad start. The cars on soft tires caught up with us, we were struggling to get grip,” Ricciardo explained.
“It got better after turn 2, I was lacking a bit of traction and had an Aston on my left. I was watching that car and started to move over before turn 3, and then I felt Alex.”
“I saw his onboard camera, he had a much better exit out of turn 2, I don’t know if he wanted to be there but he could see me moving over. We all ended up trapped, and that caused it. Unfortunately, a very short Sunday.”
The Australian admits that in addition to the frustration of a crash, having his race end on the first lap is a huge disappointment for him: “A first-lap incident is the worst for a driver.”
“Last night, we felt good, eager to have a good day, and it all vanished at the start. There’s a lot of preparation and it all falls apart. That’s racing, it happens, we’ll look into Yuki’s race, and I have tests here on Tuesday so I’ll make up for the laps!”
Albon’s Hopes Dashed in Early Crash. Albon’s Hopes Dashed in Early Crash
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