F1 stars make X-rated joke as driver REFUSES to pay FIA fine

Bahrain Grand Prix

F1 stars make X-rated joke as driver REFUSES to pay FIA fine

Alex Albon was fined this weekend

Chris Deeley

Monday 14 April 2025 11:55

Alex Albon and George Russell have been caught joking about the former's fine for impeding his junior team-mate Luke Browning.

Russell broke the news of the €7,500 fine to the Williams driver as they were being interviewed after a practice session at the Bahrain Grand Prix, with Albon immediately insisting 'I'm not paying that!'

Joking with the Mercedes star, he said of the impeding incident: “Just gotta be the alpha dog. Show them who’s boss. Gotta show them who’s number one.”

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They then moved on to joking about Albon's team-mate Carlos Sainz, who picked up a huge fine – later reduced to €10,000 – for appearing late to the national anthem at last weekend's Japanese Grand Prix as a result of some intestinal distress.

Albon poses crucial team-mate question

Laughing about the two fines levied against his team's drivers, Albon asked “Would you rather take a s*** or take out your team-mate?" before immediately answer himself, “Take out your team-mate!”

Russell admitted that the fine for the potentially dangerous moment was, in fact, cheaper than Sainz's for turning up 20 seconds late, having previously claimed the Spaniard's punishment was too hard.

Speaking in his actual interview after the chat with Russell, Albon insisted that his impeding of Browning wasn't either driver's fault.

“I didn’t hear him coming on the radio, but no one’s fault really. We were in the middle of a very busy run plan - so was Luke. One of them things. He did a good job to miss me.”

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Mercedes FIA George Russell Carlos Sainz Williams Japanese Grand Prix