Alex Albon responds to Franco Colapinto move after ‘divebomb’ radio message

Alex Albon rowed back on his “divebomb” critique of Franco Colapinto’s first-corner move at the Singapore Grand Prix, explaining that the concertina effect resulted in several drivers being unable to turn in.

Albon started the race from 11th with his Williams team-mate alongside in 12th, but after a slow getaway, Colapinto jinked to the inside and swept past Albon, Yuki Tsunoda and Carlos Sainz to move into P9, while Albon was forced to the escape road and dropped several places.

Alex Albon: ‘Nothing really to criticise’ on Franco Colapinto’s start in Singapore

In the heat of battle, Albon took to team radio and said to the pit wall: “Franco just divebombed! What is he doing?!”, while Carlos Sainz offered similar initial feedback of the move as he too dropped places as a result.

Albon would end the race as the first retiree, however, suffering from a cooling issue within his Williams that would end his evening prematurely at Marina Bay.

But after assessing the footage of the start, he came to the conclusion that the knock-on effect of Colapinto’s move was the part that caused issues for others, rather than the act of his audacious move itself.

“I had a look. I don’t know how it looked on the outside, but I think it was more just no-one could turn into the corner,” Albon explained to reporters in Singapore after the race.

Could Franco Colapinto force his way onto the F1 2025 grid? Space is running out

? F1 2025 driver line-up: Who is already confirmed for the 2025 grid?

? F1 driver contracts: What is the contract status of every driver on the F1 2024 grid?

“So, kind of everyone concertinaed and basically had to go straight to Turn 1, and then obviously I was on the outside, so I paid the price.

“I mean, nothing really to criticise I think in the end, just unfortunate that I was the one on the other side of the corner. So, a bit frustrating.

“I think the whole weekend has been a bit frustrating – we had a car that should have been top 10, and we haven’t got that.”

When asked if he knew what caused his issue at the first corner as a result of Colapinto’s move, the Williams driver replied: “The problem is basically I couldn’t turn left because Carlos couldn’t turn left, because Yuki couldn’t turn left. So it was just one of them, I think. Nothing serious.”

The Argentinian would go on to cross the line in 11th place come the chequered flag, following on from his first points finish last time out in Baku.

Read next: Daniel Ricciardo ‘always been up against it’ claim amid Singapore GP last race threat