It is an absolutely horrendous period for Williams in Formula 1. Their performance shot up in 2023, only to fall flat in 2024. With the Australian GP crash that Alex Albon suffered, the team ran out of chassis’ and was left without a spare in Melbourne. By the Japanese GP, Williams repaired Albon’s FW46 and handed it to teammate Logan Sargeant. But at Suzuka, the Thai racer destroyed the only undamaged car in the Lap 1 crash, leaving Williams team principal, James Vowles, frustrated.

Vowles addressed Albon’s crash with VCARB’s Daniel Ricciardo in a post-qualifying interview. He confirmed that his driver had come out unscathed but was mentally not okay. “Alex is good,” the British TP told F1TV. “He’s obviously mentally frustrated with what happened but physically, he is fine. And that’s the most important for me. It was a big shunt, a lot of damage for us.” 

Vowles then went on to elaborate on how Albon’s crash has now left them helpless in their quest to bring upgrades. “I suspect it looks like a little bit of damage again on the front right. But let’s see how bad it is when we get there. Looks like it is repairable to me, from the images taken. The last 2 weeks have been tough.

“Take any team to have 3 major accidents where you’ve taken out all equipment on the car, is enormous. We are making spares as quickly as possible in the background but ultimately it will have an impact on performance. We can’t bring as many updates, or updates on the car have unfortunately been broken,” he added.

Though Williams has taken a big hit, the incident didn’t seem to be Albon’s fault from the onboard footage.

Alex Albon blames Daniel Ricciardo for the Lap 1 Crash at Suzuka

Before Turn 3 in Lap 1, Daniel Ricciardo attempted to swerve away from Lance Stroll to his left. But what he did not notice was Albon, on his right had gained some ground. This caused a collision, sending both drivers into the tire barriers.

“He just squeezed me, (I had) nowhere to go,” Albon said on his team radio. Even from the F1TV replays, it appeared as if Albon’s reasoning was justified and Ricciardo indeed messed up. While he blamed the VCARB racer on the radio initially, in a post-race interview, he concluded that Ricciardo might not have seen him before turning in.

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For a final judgment on the matter, the stewards have summoned both drivers to report to them. Stay tuned for more updates.

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