Alexander Albon shares perspective on incident with Ferrari’s Ollie Bearman in Mexico FP1. Alex Albon reacts to incident involving his Williams and the Ferrari SF24 of Oliver Bearman in Mexico.

The collision between the Williams of Alexander Albon and Ferrari SF-24 of Oliver Bearman, which occurred in the early minutes of the first free practice session in Mexico, continues to stir discussion among insiders. Despite the fact that it was the Thai driver who lost control of his car after a heavy run over the curb in Turn 10, it’s also true that the Ferrari driver, returning to the wheel of the SF-24 after his stellar performance in the Sauadi Arabian Grand Prix at the Jeddah circuit, could and should have managed the situation better by not lifting his foot in one of the fastest parts of the Hermanos Rodriguez circuit, a controversial episode.

Asked about what happened at the end of the day, Alexander Albon was careful not to lay all the blame on Oliver Bearman, though he had initially called him an “idiot” right after the collision: “I believe he was told very late that I was coming up behind him, judging by the team radio,” commented the Williams driver – “He did his best to accelerate through the two or three high-speed corners (8-9-10), but we met at the worst possible spot on track.” – the Williams driver pointed out at the end of the first free practice session for the Mexican Grand Prix, which was held on Friday at the 4.304-kilometre Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez in Mexico City.

“I think there was a 100 km/h speed difference. I don’t blame myself, but I don’t think it’s entirely Ollie’s fault either. I think he could have been better warned. Obviously, he’s a rookie; closing speeds in Formula 1 are much higher than in F2. It’s not his fault.” – he added.

Due to the heavy impact against the barriers, Alex Albon was forced not only to abandon FP1 early but also missed the second session, as the repairs took longer than expected: “Completing only two laps is frustrating. We have a lot of work to do tomorrow,” added the Thai driver. “Hopefully, FP2 was less important than a typical weekend because it was, of course, a Pirelli test. So, in a way, it’s possible other teams learned less because they weren’t using this year’s tires. I hope the lack of track time is less of a disadvantage.” – the Thai driver concluded.