Alex Albon believes a sudden change in tyre pressure caused him to crash out of the 2023 Australian Grand Prix.
Albon, who had out-qualified an impressive eighth on the grid, was running strongly until a spin at Turn 6 caused him to hit the wall putting him out of the race and bringing out the first of two red flags.
“I was going through there slower than a lap before,” said Albon to the media. “But went a little bit wider in turn five went on the exit curb didn’t think too much of it, if I am honest.
“But looking at the data briefly, the tyre data spiked a bit, and with these tyres, you get punished, so we think that’s the cause.
“Everything was lining up until my mistake. [So] very angry with myself.”
Necessity to score points in unpredictable races
With two red flags and a pileup at the restart, several teams could profit from the chaos as McLaren and AlphaTauri got off the mark.
Williams, we’re unable to capitalise, as Logan Sargeant ended his and the team’s race early after making contact with Nyck De Vries at Turn 1.
“Firstly, it’s my mistake and apologies to the team,” said Albon. “It’s one of those things looking at the results and seeing where everyone’s at there was a good chance of points.
“We need to score when we can and especially when there are opportunities. Today there are a few cars out of place, and that’s when we need to do well.”
