Alex Albon and Kevin Magnussen have shared their perspectives on their race-ending collision on the opening lap of the São Paulo Grand Prix.
The race got off to a dramatic start, with only nineteen cars lining up on the grid, after a technical issue sent a hapless Charles Leclerc spinning into the barriers on the formation lap.
Albon got a great start from P13, but soon found himself in trouble as he attempted to clear the Haas duo. As Magnussen started moving across, he unintentionally squeezed his teammate; this led to Nico Hülkenberg tangling with Albon, which in turn pushed him into Magnussen.
The incident was serious enough to trigger an early red flag. Albon and Magnussen DNFed on the spot, while Hülkenberg was able to limp back to the pits, allowing the mechanics to repair his car during the stoppage. Daniel Ricciardo and Oscar Piastri were also affected by the collision, picking up damage from the debris. Although they managed to get going again, they were both a lap down after the restart.
Speaking to the media afterwards, Albon expressed his disappointment, explaining that he had high hopes for the afternoon after his rapid getaway.
Photo credit: Williams Racing
“The last three races, so Mexico, the sprint race yesterday and today, we’ve been number one on starts. We’ve had very good starts, three in a row now. Sometimes it works for you like it did in Mexico. And sometimes it works against you, like it did here.
“So, frustrating. I don’t think I could have done anything different.”
“I was as far right as I could. I think that the Haas on the left was likely blindsided, went across a little bit, squeezed the middle Haas, and that was it.
“It was a big hit actually, you never want something like this head-on because obviously you get that motion which is never that nice but I’m fine. I’m more just frustrated about having a good start going for nothing.”
He also lamented the missed opportunity to capitalise on their rivals’ mishaps to score some points in São Paulo.
“I mean, it happens, it’s just unfortunate because races like this is what we don’t want, where there’s a Ferrari out, Daniel [Ricciardo] is a lap down, Piastri is a lap down, and now there’s a chance to score points. The races we do well at, we scrap that. And now it’s open for one of our championship rivals to take.
“We were ahead of the two Haas [cars], we knew they were going to be the backstop, they were going to be the traffic makers, and if I could get past them early in the race, we would have had a really good chance to score points.
“It was only 100 metres, but in 100 metres it was looking like it was going the right way. […]”
Asked whether a top ten finish would’ve been possible, Albon replied, “You never know.
“What’s more important than scoring points, is making sure the others aren’t scoring points. So if I wasn’t going to score points, I was going to hold up the right people who were to score points. […] I would rather Alfa Romeo score points than AlphaTauris.”
Photo credit: MoneyGram Haas F1 Team
Magnussen was more taciturn, evidently frustrated to end his race so early, as he was hoping to bounce back after his DNF at the Mexican Grand Prix the week before, caused by a suspension failure.
“Just got hit. Bad luck,” he said.
“I got a good start, I had a good feeling with the soft tyre, telling my engineers that it might be good. I had a really positive feeling in the car. So, you know, it’s typical, unlucky.
“I have hit the wall twice now, no fault of my own, so it is a little bit frustrating. I got a really good start and then I think Albon squeezed Nico [Hülkenberg], they had contact, and that sent Albon into me like a chain reaction.”
Hülkenberg, who managed to escape the worst of it, also shared his thoughts on the incident.
“Well, both felt attracted to me I think, and wanted to come and give me a kiss. And they got a kiss. I think they don’t come again!” he quipped.
“There was minor damage on my car, which were able to repair on the red flag. But it was a shame because we lost the new set of soft tyres, which would have been very handy today, because the soft was definitely by far the best tyre. So yeah, that was not great.”
The German driver admitted that the incident reminded him of his clash with Esteban Ocon and Sergio Pérez in Qatar.
“Very similar to Qatar to be honest, it was like déjà vu for me, but it all happened so quickly. Alex is on my right, Kevin is coming up as the corner goes left, so I think he pushed it a bit too hard, and paid the price in the end.”
