Thai-British Formula One driver for Williams Racing Alexander Albon has provided explanations as to why he infuriated Scuderia Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc by refusing to let the Monegasque driver pass him at a very important stage of the 2022 Formula 1 Monaco Grand Prix on Sunday.
The Williams driver found himself in front of Charles Leclerc after coming out of the pits on lap 18: Alex Albon had just switched to slick tyres while the Ferrari driver was running on the intermediate tyres for two laps. Charles Leclerc caught Alex Albon at Massenet, but despite many of blue flags around the rest of the lap, the Thai-British driver Albon refused to let him pass. The Ferrari driver became increasingly frustrated, exclaiming “Come on! What the f***?” on his radio as lost precious time behind the Williams car.
As the next lap began Alex Albon’s race engineer informed him to allow Charles Leclerc to overtake him, but the Monegasque driver was only able to get past when the Williams skidded off the track at Sainte Devote. It was already too late for Ferrari, as Charles Leclerc was no longer able to get ahead of Red Bull’s Sergio Perez, who took the race lead.
The Williams driver explained his decision not to make way, stating that his slick tyres meant he would soon be a lot faster and therefore quickly able to re-pass Charles Leclerc had he let the F1-75 by:
“It’s tricky because we went out on slicks and we had a massive pace advantage. It would take three corners to let him past and then I would have been straightaway quick enough to re-overtake him again. You get into a position where, in my eyes, for both of us, it was quicker if I just stayed ahead, because I would have pulled away pretty much straight away. So that’s it really. It’s one of those awkward situations. But in my eyes it was a bit like if we let him right past we’re going to overtake him straight back again.” – Alexander Albon explained.
Show your support for Scuderia Ferrari with official merchandise collection from Puma! Enter the online Puma Store and shop securely! And get your F1 tickets for every race with VIP hospitality and unparalleled insider access. Click here for the best offers to support Charles and Carlos from the track!
The Thai-British received a five-second time penalty during the Monaco Grand Prix for gaining an advantage over Ferrari junior Mick Schumacher by cutting across the chicane, but he was not penalized by the stewards for his actions against Charles Leclerc, which indirectly helped his former team Red Bull.
Leave a Reply