The first wheel-to-wheel racing of the British Grand Prix weekend will kick off on Saturday, but one driver won’t be lining up with the rest of the pack on the grid.
Alex Albon will start the sprint race from the pit lane after his Williams team made adjustments to his car under parc ferme conditions following Friday’s sprint qualifying.
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An FIA document regarding the relegation to the pit lane revealed that the British team changed the setup of his car’s suspension (although not Carlos Sainz’s, in the sister car).
Friday saw Williams unexpectedly get both of their cars out of SQ1 and into the second round of qualifying, after a brutal Austrian Grand Prix session which saw both Albon and Sainz exit early alongside the Cadillacs and Aston Martins.
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Williams to ‘gather learnings’ in sprint race
Williams confirmed the move to the pits in a brief statement on Saturday morning, saying: “Alex will start today’s Sprint from the pit lane, allowing us to make setup changes and gather learnings for the rest of the weekend and season.”
The relegation was also announced in a typically dry FIA document, which read: “Atlassian Williams F1 Team changed the setup of the suspension of Car 23 under parc fermé, without the approval of the Technical Delegate. This is not accordance with Articles B3.5.3 and B3.5.4 of the FIA F1 Regulations.
“Car 23 is therefore required to start the Sprint from pit lane as per Article B3.5.3 b) of the FIA F1 Regulations.”
Lewis Hamilton will start from pole position in Sunday’s 17-lap race after dominating Saturday running, with Kimi Antonelli to line up alongside him on the front row of the grid.
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