Alex Albon does not expect to compete in today’s Sao Paulo Grand Prix as his qualifying crash leaves too tight a turnaround for Williams to complete the necessary repairs.
Albon was one of five drivers to crash during a wild qualifying session at Interlagos on Sunday morning. He lost control of his car at Turn 1 and hit the barrier.
It damaged three of the four corners of his Williams car, adding to the team’s required repair work ahead of the race after teammate Franco Colapinto crashed out in Q1.
Here’s the latest update from Williams:
💬 “Following the separate incidents for Alex and Franco, both cars have extensive damage and are being assessed. We will try our hardest to have the cars ready for the Race, but it will be tight for Alex’s car given the damage. We will update you should anything change.”
Albon had been due to start P7 on the grid but said in his post-Q3 TV interviews that there was “no way” he’d be taking part in the race because of the damage.
Colapinto, Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz, and the Aston Martin duo of Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll, all of whom also sustained damage to their cars in crashes during qualifying, will face similar doubts.
Should any of those four drivers fail to start or require repairs that would necessitate a pit lane start, it would promote Max Verstappen from his current starting spot of 17th on the grid.
Verstappen was knocked out in Q2 and has to serve a five-place grid penalty, acting as a blow in his championship fight against Lando Norris, who scored pole position.
