Williams Team Principal James Vowles mentioned that Alex Albon's incident during the early stages of the F1 Australian GP wasn't entirely his fault.
The British driver was running in a very promising P6 and looked rapid in the second sector of the track. However, on lap 6, Alex Albon lost the rear of his car which caused him to hit the barriers and end his race.
During the debrief on their social media platforms, Vowles explained how and why the incident occured:
"What happened with Alex is very difficult to explain when you first look at the data. he went through Turn 5 and then into Turn 6 slower than his previous lap and yet the rear came around immediately and he lost control of the car.
"There's nothing he could have done to correct that. Turn five is full throttle in qualifying, but in the race it is difficult. We, therefore, assumed he would have to lift. However, the car worked better than expected and he could just about get through that corner at full throttle.
The Team Principal added:
"As a result, Alex was going ten kilometers per hour faster through turn five than the lap before. Alex noticed he was going too fast and had to lift. As a result, he ran wide, causing his left rear tire to hit the kerb.
"None of this seems like a big deal, but when the tires are on the limit it has big consequences. Once he turned in for turn six, he noticed that he didn't have the grip from the laps before.''
Alex Albon disappointed for letting his team down
Alex Albon revealed that he was very disappointed and angry with himself for throwing away the opportunity to nab a good haul of points.
In his post-race interview with F1.com, Albon said:
"Yes, it’s all fine, all fine. More disappointed and sorry for the team than anything else. We had a great car today. I think even in the first few laps of the race we were strong. I was really happy with the car – it was just very unfortunate.
"Firstly, it’s my mistake and apologies to the team… and especially when there are opportunities to score points today [when] there are a few cars out of place, out of sequence, and that’s when we need to do well. Everything was lining up until my mistake. Obviously, very angry with myself…"
It would have been fascinating to see where Alex Albon would have finished had he not crashed in such a chaotic race in Melbourne.