The Canadian GP ended frustratingly for Alexander Albon after a touch with Oscar Piastri that ended the Williams driver’s race in the early laps. The McLaren Australian apologized for the incident and admitted that the track conditions surprised him.
After switching from intermediate tires to dry compounds at the end of the first lap, Piastri hit the side of Albon’s car at the chicane after 11 laps. The touch forced the Thai driver to retire and earned the Australian a 10-second penalty. He finished the race in 11th place, as the first driver one lap behind the winner Kimi Antonelli.
“I thought it would be a bit tricky, but possible,” Piastri explained about the chance to score points after switching to slick tires. “But the level of grip out there was like nothing I had ever driven before, and I ended up being surprised.”
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The McLaren driver also regretted the accident with Albon: “Obviously, I feel sorry for Williams and Alex, because I wasn’t really trying to overtake him, I just locked the wheels, and that was it. It’s one of those things that happen.”
For Albon, the retirement ended a difficult weekend. The Williams driver had already lost much of Friday’s practice after hitting a marmot. “All the cars in front of us were faster than the midfield pack, so we had a tough start,” said the Thai. “We were about to overtake Pierre [Gasly] and then Franco [Colapinto] and Liam [Lawson] were ahead of us. But unfortunately, I think Oscar tried to kind of follow me along with Ollie [Bearman] and simply miscalculated,” he lamented.
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