Alex Albon: “We knew coming into Singapore we likely wouldn’t be fighting for points”

Williams Racing’s Alex Albon retired on lap twenty-six of the Singapore Grand Prix after a lock up saw him crash into the barrier at turn eight. In sixteenth place before the incident occurred, the Thai driver lost his front wing and consequently took to the pits, ultimately unable to rejoin the race. 

Albon admitted that the crash was driver error and a direct result of the track’s damp conditions, which made it hard to gauge how the brakes would react. 

“It’s a bit frustrating and was difficult out there tonight. It’s confusing with nothing different from the previous lap, however I just locked up on the front left with the wet making it difficult to predict the brakes. 

“Whilst there wasn’t an issue and ultimately it comes down to driver error, the brakes are very tricky in the wet and it’s hard to get them in the right window.”

Though disappointed in the end result, Albon wasn’t expecting a points finish for the team at Marina Bay. He will, however, be looking to fight for a better finish in the second half of the double header, the Japanese Grand Prix. 

“We knew coming into Singapore we likely wouldn’t be fighting for points, so whilst it’s difficult, we can look to Japan and come back fighting.”

“I don’t know if he was in a blind spot of the car where the mirror can’t pick up” – Nicholas Latifi

Team-mate Nicholas Latifi was also unable to complete the race after a crash with Zhou Guanyu on lap seven. Latifi said that he didn’t see the Alfa Romeo behind, so when he made a move to the left before turn five, the cars made contact. Both cars ended up retiring from the race.

“From the previous corner I had looked in the mirrors to see where Zhou Guanyu was. I didn’t see he was there, so I took my normal approach for the racing line on the following corner. 

In reflecting on the incident, Latifi said that he should have left more of a space, but questioned whether a blind spot was to blame for his inability to see Zhou in his mirror. 

“I don’t know if he was in a blind spot of the car where the mirror can’t pick up. Unfortunately, he was there and in hindsight I needed to leave more room, but I can only go off what I can see in the mirrors.”

Latifi sought to finish the race after the collision, but the car was ultimately too damaged to continue. The FIA decided to hand him a five-place grid penalty for the incident to be applied in Japan as well as two penalty points on his super license. 

“The aim was to see the checkered flag and learn from the experience with it being my first race here, however the incident caused suspension damage which forced us to retire the car.”