The Saudi Arabian Grand Prix was certainly not an event to remember for Williams. Both cars of the Grove team were forced to retire, but to worsen the situation came a sanction by the race marshals against Alexander Albon.
The Thai driver became the protagonist of a maneuver that led to an accident between him and Lance Stroll’s Aston Martin AMR22 in turn 1, when there were just 2 laps to go.
Albon, once he took the trail of the British car, tried to insert the nose of his FW44 inside, but Stroll was now intent on proceeding in facing the first corner. The two cars collided and both Albon and Stroll were forced to retire.
The Race Direction noticed the incident and reported the incident to the stewards. They viewed the footage available to them together with representatives of the teams involved and found Albon guilty of braking too late.
For this reason Alexander Albon was penalized by 3 places on the grid to be served at the next event, the Australian Grand Prix to be held in Melbourne in two weeks. For Albon, then, there were also 2 penalty points in the license which will remain so for the next 12 months.
The race marshals ratified this decision in document number 56, at 10:50 pm. Albon and Williams will have the right to appeal, but will be able to appeal within the time limits established by Article 15 of the FIA International Sporting Code.
Alex Albon, Williams FW44, and Lance Stroll, Aston Martin AMR22
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
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