Williams has revealed that Alex Albon suffered “huge “damage to his floor in Formula 1’s Miami Grand Prix when he ran over the bollard that Max Verstappen had hit.
The Grove-based squad’s challenging start to the campaign continued last weekend as Albon trailed home in 18th place, while Logan Sargeant retired after a collision.
However, Williams Team Principal James Vowles disclosed that from Lap 50 until the end Albon was nursing damage estimated to cost him around a second per lap.
“On Lap 50 Alex went across the same bollard that Verstappen did and he broke the floor and the damage was huge,” Vowles said in Williams’ Miami GP debrief video.
“We didn’t realize how much instantaneously, but just a lap later it became very clear how much it was.
“It was something circa a second or so of lap time performance, just to give everyone an idea.”
This later contributed to Albon locking up and overshooting Turn 11 with only five laps remaining, dropping him to the back as he dived into the pits for fresh tyres.
Vowles explained that the extensive floor damage played a big part in this error from Albon, as he lost quite a significant amount of downforce affecting his braking.
“It meant that when he hit the brakes coming into [Turn] 11, there was no downforce to stop the car. He locked up, lost all those positions, and went off,” he added.
Sargeant’s clash with Kevin Magnussen, which saw the Haas driver be penalised, ensured the American was the sole driver that failed to reach the chequered flag.
Esteban Ocon’s 10th-place finish delivered a vital point to the struggling Alpine team, meaning Williams and Sauber are the two sides still waiting to score in 2024.
