Japan Report: Race day

An unfortunate start ends race day early

Published

07 Apr 2024

Est Reading Time

1 min

An unfortunate day in Suzuka for Alex, as our No.23’s race ended abruptly on the opening lap.

It was a chaotic start as the lights went out. Heading into Turn 3, Albono looked to move past the outside of Daniel Ricciardo, but the RB driver closed the gap to defend against the Aston Martin of Lance Stroll on his inside, causing contact between Alex’s front left tyre and Ricciardo’s rear right tyre.

This resulted in both drivers spinning out of control and crashing into the barrier to bring out the red flag.

The most important thing is that both drivers were able to safely exit their vehicles and were unharmed during the racing incident.

Speaking on the events of today, Alex said, “I don’t think Daniel saw me and then it was a bit of a pinching moment. I tried to back out of it but couldn’t quite get out of the way quick enough.

“It was a tough one to take. Obviously we’re not in a great position as a team with parts and general damage to the car.

“Yeah, very frustrating and just disappointing. We need to bounce back and get ready for China.”