Suzuka: Alex Albon loses his cool on radio, laughs it off after race. An unexpected Alex Albon was seen in Japan.

Williams did not particularly impress Alex Albon during the Japanese GP. Or at least that’s how it seemed from the rather heated team radio messages the driver directed at his race engineer. The post-race interviews, however, revealed a “return to normal” for the Thai driver.

The 29-year-old’s season has started off quite well, with points scored in all three of the first races, while Carlos Sainz still seems to be clearly struggling.

Alex Albon secured fifth place in Australia and seventh in China (after the disqualification of the two Ferraris), earning a good haul of points for the team. Even in Japan, after qualifying ninth, the driver confirmed his starting position by earning more valuable points that keep Williams in fifth place in the Constructors’ Championship.

However, the 1996-born driver had some fiery exchanges over team radio with his race engineer. Unhappy with the strategy adopted by the team, Alex Albon let loose with words far harsher than we’re used to hearing from him.

The radio outburst
“Honestly, what you’re doing makes no sense,” he said over the radio. “I mean, it’s ridiculous.” He was referring to the team not reacting in time to Oliver Bearman’s pit stop, who was fighting for the top 10 along with Alex Albon.

In response to the explanation from his race engineer, the frustrated driver replied: “Okay, but then call me to the pits earlier!” In the end, the Williams driver still finished ahead of the Haas driver, which ultimately may have convinced Alex Albon of the team’s reasoning.

In the post-race interviews, the driver appeared much more relaxed and probably more embarrassed, having found out that his radio outbursts were broadcast live.

“Actually, the car was good, I mean it was good all the way through,” he said in the interviews. “It seems that when it’s that close, I think everyone from fifth to tenth believes they can finish fifth.”

“Especially the one who’s already in fifth,” Alex Albon added with an embarrassed laugh, calling himself “stupid” and admitting he was basically “kidding himself.” In the end, it seems the fire seen during the race had died out even before the team debrief.