(Motorsport-Total.com) – Alexander Albon has downplayed any tensions with his Williams teammate Carlos Sainz after their collision at the Dutch Grand Prix in Zandvoort and revealed that the two settled the matter over breakfast on Monday after the race.
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Sainz had already taken full responsibility for the intra-team collision in Zandvoort, which earned him a ten-second penalty. While defending on old hard tires in turn 1, the Spaniard hit a bump on the inside line, locked his tires, and slid into his teammate.
The contact damaged Albon’s car and forced him to retire, while Sainz finished the race in 16th place after his penalty.
Despite the incident, Albon emphasizes that there is no bad blood between the two. He addressed the situation during an appearance on the podcast The Fast And The Curious and explained with a smile: “We had breakfast on Monday. Carlos offered to pay. I let him pay.”
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“All relaxed. I think people like to make more out of it than it really is, but at the same time, it wasn’t like Max and Daniel [Verstappen and Ricciardo in Baku 2018]. That was important to me. You notice it in the media pen as soon as you go there after the race – you feel that the interviewer is practically licking his lips, so happy is he.”
“So you just have to accept it and say: ‘No, we won’t go down that path,'” said Albon. Instead, he jokes that the situation now owes him a free shot at Sainz in the name of team equality.
When asked if he could “clean up” Sainz once as compensation, Albon laughs: “I think that’s a good idea. I’m not sure if the team would agree.” He adds: “I shouldn’t say that because otherwise it writes its own script …”
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