A few key events ultimately determined the outcome of the Japanese Grand Prix on Sunday and may have longer-lasting impacts on several driver’s futures.
It was another disappointing race for Logan Sargeant who looks less and less likely to retain his Williams seat, while Zhou Guanyu could have done without a DNF to boost his hope of earning another Sauber contract.
Speaking on the DRS: De Race Show, former driver Giedo van der Garde highlighted another driver who didn’t have the best weekend.
Ahead of the race starting in Suzuka, one team that were already under pressure were Williams.
They had managed to get two working chassis to Japan after Alex Albon destroyed his during FP1 in Australia.
Logan Sargeant gave up his car to his teammate in Melbourne and Albon narrowly missed out on points in that race, finishing 11.
However, the American did himself no favours and put his car in the wall on his lap in practice and more repairs were needed.
Van Der Garde has now suggested that Albon then did something ‘very stupid’ during the Japanese Grand Prix.
His race only lasted a few corners after making contact with Daniel Ricciardo heading into the Esses.
The Thai driver was Williams’s best hope of scoring their first point of the season but instead had to watch from the garage as rivals RB increased their tally.
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Giedo Van der Garde says Alex Albon did something ‘very stupid’ during the Japanese Grand Prix
Williams have been on the very edge of their capacity since the beginning of the winter break.
Team principal James Vowles has admitted that developing a spare chassis has had to take a back seat to prioritise other parts and as a result, they were in a position to only run one car in Australia.
They were able to run both cars in Japan – although Sargeant had to use Albon’s repaired and slightly heavier – but once again failed to threaten the top ten.
Logan Sargeant putting his car in the gravel towards the end of the race ended his faint chances of scoring points and he even finished between the two incredibly slow Alpines.
However, Van Der Garde has argued that Albon should have known better during the Japanese Grand Prix than to have a look around the outside of Ricciardo at that early stage of the race.
READ MORE: Everything you need to know about Williams Racing from team principal to Mercedes relationship
Alex Albon decision making questioned in Suzuka
Speaking about the first lap incident, Van Der Garde said: “Hey, you need to have a bit in your head, especially [Alex] Albon.
“Listen, please don’t drive [in a way that could cause] any damage. We already have a problem. We already have a chassis that is broken, we don’t have that many parts, so don’t take any damage.
“Then, boom, the whole car is broken. Yes, it is very stupid and look, being very honest, you can say who was to blame but they call this a racing incident.
“You can’t say anything about it unless you know that you are not allowed to take too much risk. Then, Albon should never have done this.”
Williams will hope for better luck in China
It’s been a very poor start to the season for Williams and while Albon’s crash at the Japanese Grand Prix could be put down to being in the wrong place at the wrong time, Van Der Garde believes Albon had to be more careful heading into that corner.
His chassis has been sent back to the UK before the next race in China which will only put further pressure on their budget cap.
It means both chassis have had to travel back to Grove from some of the furthest reaches of the F1 calendar which is far from ideal.
Every team will only have one practice session to prepare for the Chinese Grand Prix due to the event hosting the first Sprint Race of the season.
That might help level the playing field for Williams and at this point, they need all the help they can get.
The post ‘Should never have done this’: Giedo van der Garde admits 28-year-old did something ‘very stupid’ in Japan appeared first on F1 Oversteer.