Williams still don’t know what caused Alex Albon’s Singapore GP retirement

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Williams team principal James Vowles has said the team is still investigating what caused Alex Albon’s retirement from the Singapore Grand Prix.

Alex Albon had lost places at the start following a bold move by teammate Franco Colapinto at the first corner, before losing speed 15 laps into the race with a suspected power unit temperature issue.

He was told to pit by the team to avoid any further damage to the power unit, which quashed any hopes that he would score more points for Williams at what looked like another promising race for Albon.

The exact reason for the retirement is currently unknown, but Vowles said the team is investigating a potential issue that could lead to answers when speaking on his Vowles Verdict debrief.

James Vowles says Williams investigating potential reason for Alex Albon retirement

Albon had qualified in P11 on the grid and appeared to have the pace to challenge for a top ten finish, which could have scored them crucial points in Williams Constructors’ title battle with Haas.

The Grove-based outfit is currently eighth in the standings on 16 points which is 15 points behind Haas in seventh place.

Vowles believes an issue linked to their carbon brake ducts could be to blame for Albon missing out on scoring crucial points for the team in Singapore.

“The actual reason is not fully known yet. What I can tell you is there’s a carbon duct that links to one of the radiators and that was cracked. Whether that was enough to be able to cause this issue is what we’re still going through the question of,” said Vowles.

“Once we have that, there are effective measures in place to make sure we both understand the fault and have systems in place to rectify not just that, but others that could occur as a result of the learning that we’ve had.”

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In the last three races, Colapinto has impressed the F1 paddock after replacing American Logan Sargeant.

Colapinto has matched Albon over single-lap pace and outscored Sargeant in just two races, having finished in eighth at Azerbaijan after a late pass on Nico Hulkenberg.

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Due to Albon having his contract renewed and the team signing Carlos Sainz for the 2025 season, Colapinto will not have a race drive from next year. Budget concerns also prevent him from taking up the vacant role at Sauber, which is expected to go to Valtteri Bottas.

Former F1 team principal Guenther Steiner believes if Albon can’t outperform Sainz next season, Vowles could be tempted to with another long-term prospect that could command a lower wage.