The Singapore GP shouldn’t have been a race that favored Alex Albon and Williams. The Marina Bay Circuit—with its slow- and medium-speed corners and practically no straights—should’ve been a nightmare for the FW45. For most of the weekend, that looked the case. But during the race, it was like the Albon’s Williams fully embraced its Gulf ‘Bolder than Bold’ livery and made a bold claim for points. That was until Sergio Perez, in a bolder-than-bold move, practically T-boned Albon and ruined his chances.

It’s no secret that Williams isn’t the best team on the grid. Whenever the FW45 has been in a good position to score points, Albon has ensured he did everything possible to extract the maximum. Unfortunately for him, Singapore’s plans were for him to be Perez’s second victim.

Alex Albon fell prey to Sergio Perez after Yuki Tsunoda

Red Bull was dreading coming to the Marina Bay Circuit. On a 15-race-winning streak, the Milton-Keynes team hoped to continue its exploits. But just like Singapore had other plans for Albon, it did so for Red Bull, too. It all unraveled in qualifying when five (past and present) Red Bull drivers were eliminated in Q2 by another Red Bull driver. Max Verstappen, Pierre Gasly, Perez, Albon, and Yuki Tsunoda were out-qualified by Liam Lawson. From there on, Red Bull’s only hope was to score decent points. In an attempt to make places on the first lap, Perez went into the side of Tsunoda, ending the Japanese driver’s race.

Following that, neither did Perez cause too many collisions nor make any significant headway. Until Lap 58 of 62. Chasing Albon in P8, Perez dove down the inside of Turn 13 in a very optimistic move. It ended with Albon (temporarily) in the wall and Perez in P8 with a five-second penalty. Although the Thai driver recovered from the crash, he could only manage a P11. After the race, Albon told the media, “We had a really good race coming through the pack and then coming up to Liam [Lawson]. We needed a couple more laps to get past him, but then I had contact with Checo.”

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Reminding him of Sundays’ happenings at the Drivers’ Press Conference in Japan, Albon was asked if Perez was on his Christmas list. He replied, “You should ask Yuki that as well. Yes, of course, he is. It was a bit disappointing at the race last week. Points for us, they come long and far away from each other. So, not to be able to score points was a bit of a shame. It was more disappointing because we didn’t have many hopes going into Singapore last week. And to be in a position where we could’ve almost scored points was exciting.” Had Tsunoda been asked this question, he might’ve had a lot to say.

“You’re the Reason He’s Gone”: RB Taskmaster Faces the Heat as High Praise for Alex Albon Amid Sergio Perez’s Exit Rumors Gets on Fans’ Nerves

Sergio Perez left Yuki Tsunoda very frustrated

While Alex Albon was fighting for points and lost them, Tsunoda was fighting for a lot more. Since Liam Lawson filled in for Daniel Ricciardo, Tsunoda hasn’t been able to outperform his rookie teammate. AlphaTauri showed positive signs of good pace the entire weekend, but problems for Yuki in qualifying and in the race compromised him. On Saturday, Verstappen impeded him in Q2, ruining his chances there. On Sunday, Verstappen’s teammate crashed into him. This DNF was his second in a row. And while he had to watch the race from the sidelines, Lawson was lighting up the track.

After his retirement, Tsunoda was asked about the incident with Perez. He said, “Yeah, I don’t know what. I had a good start, and it’s a shame how I ended up like that. It’s frustrating overall.” It must’ve been frustrating because he couldn’t score points, but also because of how well Lawson did. Even though Tsunoda’s seat is most likely safe in 2024, he can never be too sure with Lawson lurking around. After all, the rookie is his direct rival on track and for the AlphaTauri seat as well. 

Where do you think Alex Albon and Yuki Tsunoda would’ve finished had it not been for Sergio Perez ruining their chances?

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