During the latter stages of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix Qualifying session, a Williams mechanic narrowly escaped injury after almost being struck by Alex Albon’s Williams FW46. The incident has resulted in the Grove-based squad being fined $5,000.
The incident occurred when Albon left the Williams garage with the airbox intake fan still attached to his car. Footage from the event shows a mechanic attempting to remove the fan while another team member gestures for Albon to drive out of the garage. In the ensuing confusion, the car nearly collided with the mechanic, who was barely able to step out of the way in time.
The Thai driver was forced to pull over in the pit exit and remove the fan whilst still in the car. Once detached, he threw it to the edge of the circuit where a marshall retrieved it. Albon continued out onto track, however, the time lost cost him the opportunity for another flying run meaning he will start the race from the tenth position on the grid.
The FIA has now released its verdict of the investigation, confirming that Williams has been fined $5,000 for the error. The note from the Stewards states, as previously reported by Newsweek:
Kym Illman/Getty Images
“The Stewards heard from the team representative of Car 23 (Alexander Albon) and reviewed video, team radio, and in-car video evidence.
“The car was released from the garage with the engine cooling fan still attached. The car was stopped at the first opportunity, at the pit exit, and subsequently the driver removed the fan and threw it overboard where it was subsequently retrieved by a marshal. Albon then drove away and entered the pits without setting an additional time.
“The general expectation when released in an unsafe condition is to simply stop at the next safe location. Throwing parts overboard, requiring a marshal to retrieve them is not normal. However, in this case, the actions of the team and driver prevented the qualifying runs of any other driver from being affected, as a yellow flag would have had to be shown if the car had remained where it was, or had driven to a run-off, and in this unique case, throwing the part overboard avoided the yellow flag. As was discussed in the hearing, this turns out to be “least worst option.”
“Had any of these actions affected other competitors, or created a further unsafe situation the Stewards would have taken further action. However, in this case, we impose the usual penalty for a release in an unsafe condition of €5,000.”