Carlos Sainz and Alexander Albon did not let the incident between them at the Dutch Grand Prix in Formula 1 turn into a problem within Williams. According to the Thai-British driver, a simple breakfast on Monday helped show that everything was fine between the two teammates.
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The contact between them happened after 66 laps completed, when Albon tried to overtake on the outside approaching the first corner. Sainz was defending the inside line but went over a very uneven part of the track during braking, lost front tire grip, and ended up locking the wheels, causing the car to slide towards his teammate.
Albon realized that Sainz was struggling to control the car and tried to avoid contact by opening his line. However, the two ended up touching and went through the corner’s runoff area. Sainz managed to continue after a pit stop, while Albon suffered significant floor damage and had his race ended by Williams.
Despite the damage caused by the accident, Albon dismissed any resentment. In an interview on the podcast The Fast and the Curious, he revealed that the two went for breakfast on Monday and that Sainz offered to pay the bill: “We had breakfast on Monday. Carlos offered to pay. I let him pay. All good,” he said.
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The driver also rejected the idea that the episode could trigger a rivalry similar to other notable internal battles in Formula 1: “For me, it wasn’t like a rivalry between Max and Daniel,” Albon said, referring to Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo.
Albon also explained that he noticed the media’s interest in exploring possible tension between the two after the race. Therefore, he decided to avoid fueling the situation in interviews and stated that he preferred simply to dismiss any attempt to turn the incident into a controversy.
The contact happened precisely in the week when Sainz and Albon had confirmed their stay at Williams for the next season. Despite Albon’s retirement and the damage caused by the accident, the Thai-British driver made it clear that the relationship between the two remained calm.
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