Bizarre incident involving Alex Albon leads to investigation by FIA stewards during Azerbaijan GP

Alex Albon managed to reach the top 10 in Azerbaijan, but a serious mistake by Williams meant he was unable to complete his final flying lap.

Albon qualified tenth for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix after performing heroics in the first two qualifying sessions, but missed his final chance when Williams left a fan attached to his car.

Williams left a cooling fan attached to Alex Albon’s car

When Albon came out onto track with just two minutes to go to complete his final flying lap in Q3, he was forced to pull over to the side of the track at the pit exit after realising that a large, bright yellow Komatsu cooling fan was still attached to the air box intake above his head.

The car was being used to cool the car in the garage, but had been put in the pit lane without a mechanic removing it, forcing Albon to stop at the side of the track to remove it himself.

With the car outside the pit lane on the track, mechanics were unable to help and had to wait anxiously to see if Albon could get the fan out.

Albon reached over his head but couldn’t turn around because he was firmly pinned in his cockpit. He managed to pull out the fan and let it extend outside his cockpit, trying to get a marshal to grab him.

With no one to take the part away from him, Albon dropped the fan to the ground and drove away, spreading dry ice everywhere as he got back up to speed. Unfortunately for the British-Thai driver, he hadn’t done it quickly enough to make it in time for his final flying lap and had to settle for 10th place.

The stewards have noted that the car was released unsafely and will investigate this after the session. This means that Albon’s starting position will be at risk if Williams is to be penalised.

Albon was outpaced in qualifying for the first time since the 2022 British Grand Prix, with Franco Colapinto underlining his strong start to Formula 1 by crossing the line in ninth, three-tenths of a second faster than Albon’s first flying lap.

This article is being updated.

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