Alex Albon faced a problem during the race at Imola. His car had a loose wheel, which he noticed when he slowed down after going through a turn. He returned to the pits slowly and got new tires, but he was given a penalty for coming back with the problem.
He explained, “I didn’t feel it coming down the pits, but as soon as I took the pit limiter off there was like a vibration and I could tell something was wrong.” Albon felt it was safe to drive back because he could see that the wheel was still attached, even though there was a bit of movement.
The stewards looked into the situation and saw that Albon handled it safely. They said he didn’t drive the car knowing it was unsafe, and he brought it back to the pits without causing any problems for other drivers. So, they didn’t give him a penalty for driving with the loose wheel.
Williams, Albon’s team, hasn’t explained why the wheel came loose in the first place. Albon managed to drive for 43 more laps after getting the wheel fixed, but the team decided to retire him from the race early.
Albon mentioned that they were trying out some things with the car during those laps, experimenting with the brakes and how the car felt in different conditions.
