Damage Denies Alex Oppourtunities at the Temple of Speed
Alex Albon endured a difficult Italian Grand Prix, following Lap 1 damage which restricted his progress throughout the race at Monza.
The team arrived in Monza for the Italian Grand Prix, fresh off the back of the Belgian Grand Prix just one week ago - as Formula 1 braces on another triple header weekend of racing.
Alex had a mixed Friday working through long-run and short-run pace across the two Free Practice sessions, before heading into Saturday's Qualifying.
After setting the 7th fastest time in FP3, Alex didn't have the balance in Qualifying - setting the 9th fastest time to line up on the inside of the fifth row for the race.
At the start, Alex tried to gain ground at turn one, but he was tagged by Pierre Gasly at the start, causing Alex to cut the chicane and suffer floor damage to his RB16, dropping down to P15 in the process..
Alex began a slow recovery but the complexion of the race utterly changed at third distance when Haas’ Kevin Magnussen stopped at the pit entry. The pit lane was closed but race leader Lewis Hamilton pitted in error and was handed a 10-second stop and go penalty.
When the pit lane opened again a stream of cars flooded in to change tyres and Alex lost out in the mix, dropped further back down the order with work to do - despite a damaged car.
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc then crashed heavily at Parabolica and while the Monegasque was unhurt in the incident the race was red flagged.
After the restart Alex had to try and make progress from the rear of the order, as teammate Max Verstappen retired with a Power Unit problem.
Alex tried to make ground with a wounded car in the final 20 laps, sadly the Thai driver was unable to make progress and he finished in P15 to cap off a frustrating weekend in Monza for the team.
Alex and the team will be looking to bounce back in just one-weeks time at Mugello for the Tuscan Grand Prix, to cap off this triple-header of F1 races on the 11-13 September.
Press Release Content: Aston Martin Red Bull Racing
Media Content: Red Bull Content Pool