In a Grand Prix of Saudi Arabia where there were many retirements, Williams failed to grab his first points of the season. Alexander Albonon the other hand, hung Lance Stroll at the very end of the race, causing his own loss. Neither of the two British single-seaters therefore saw the finish, since Nicholas Latifi had retired a little earlier following going off the track, causing the sole intervention of the safety car.
With both drivers struggling outside the top 10, the stewards were quick to indicate they would investigate the first corner collision once the checkered flag was waved. They did, ultimately determining that the Williams driver was at fault and should be disciplined.
“The stewards heard from the driver of car 23 (Alexander Albon), the driver of car 18 (Lance Stroll) and the team representatives”specifies the report of the stewards. “The Stewards reviewed the video evidence relating to the collision. Car 23 was trying to pass car 18 on the inside with late braking. In carrying out this maneuver, car 23 stalled [ses roues] and hooked up with car 18 at apex. We have determined that car 23 was wholly or primarily responsible for the collision.”
The commissioners have therefore decided to inflict on Alex Albon a penalty of three places on the starting grid of the next Grand Prix, in two weeks in Melbourne. This sanction is accompanied by two penalty points on the license of the Thai.
The Jeddah event confirmed the sporting difficulties encountered by both Williams and Aston Martin, who are now the only two teams on the board not to have scored a single point following the first two Grands Prix of the season. After his collision with Albon, Stroll reached the finish in 13th place, behind his teammate Nico Hulkenbergwhich once more replaced a Sebastian Vettel affected by COVID-19 since last week.
