Alex Albon bows out of the race after being launched into the air by Valtteri Bottas at the Japanese GP

At the Japanese GP, Max Verstappen seized a commanding lead right from the start, thanks to a superb launch off the line as the lights turned green. However, further down the grid, a starting lap drama involving Alfa Romeo’s Valtteri Bottas and Williams of Alex Albon saw the Thai driver touch the skies. 

Bottas, who had started the race from a lowly 16th position, had a remarkable getaway from the line and moved ahead of the field. As he overtook slower competitors, he found himself neck and neck with Alex Albon, leading to the crash. Unbeknownst to Bottas, who was vying to secure the racing line, Albon was positioned perilously close to the edge of the track.

In an instant, the two cars collided, resulting in a high-impact collision that sent Albon’s Williams car hurtling into the air. The aftermath was nothing short of a chaotic scene, with Albon’s vehicle sustaining extensive damage. Forced to pit for a new front wing, the Williams team soon realized the damage ran deeper, affecting the car’s floor.

In a swift response to the mayhem, the race stewards immediately deployed yellow flags and summoned the safety car to the track, bringing the entire field to a standstill. The pause in racing action allowed track marshals to swarm onto the circuit, diligently collecting the debris strewn across turn one.

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Both Alex Albon and Valtteri Bottas retire from the race

Unfortunately, the race took a disastrous turn for Albon, who was ultimately compelled to retire. This meant that both Williams cars were forced to exit the race prematurely, dealing a heavy blow to the team’s aspirations and extending their races without scoring any points. Meanwhile, Bottas endured a nightmare of his own, plagued by a string of accidents that dashed his hopes of continuing in the race. 

Adding to the drama, Valtteri was entangled in yet another collision, this time with Logan Sargeant, a teammate of the unfortunate Alex Albon. This incident resulted in Bottas spinning off the track and landing in the gravel. Although he managed to rejoin the race momentarily, the damage sustained from both collisions ultimately forced him to concede and retire from the contest.

As the dust settled on this dramatic series of events, Williams found themselves in a peculiar predicament, languishing in seventh place in the standings. Positioned in a no man’s land, they could not mount a serious challenge to the sixth-placed Alpine team while enjoying a comfortable buffer from the Haas trailing behind them. 

Nevertheless, the threat loomed that if the Haas cars managed to secure enough points in the race, they could potentially close the gap on the English team. In total, the event had already seen five cars retire, rendering it a gripping and action-packed spectacle for spectators worldwide.

In case you missed it:

• Lando Norris vows to make ‘life difficult’ for Max Verstappen’s Red Bull at the Japanese GP
• Oscar Piastri and Mclaren announce a shock multi year contract extension agreement ahead of the Japanese GP

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