F1 driver reveals EARLY issue in 2024 testing

Albon, Williams, testing, Bahrain, 2024 — Photo: © IMAGO

F1 Testing 2024

F1 driver reveals EARLY issue in 2024 testing

The incident brought out the first yellow flag of the season

Tyler Rowlinson

Thursday 22 February 2024 01:57

Alex Albon has opened up on the issue which caused his Williams to stop toward the end of the first session of pre-season testing on Wednesday.

The Thai driver was the first to test the news Williams – the FW46 – in the morning session of day one of pre-season testing in Sakhir, with team-mate Logan Sargeant running in the afternoon.

Max Verstappen topped the time sheets in the first session and was almost seven tenths up on second place Charles Leclerc, while Albon was eighth fastest.

Alex Albon finished eighth in the Wednesday morning session in Bahrain

But the Thai driver had issues with the car that saw him stop in sector one

Logan Sargeant will race the afternoon session

Albon reveals first session issue

Article continues under video

However, with 20 minutes left to run, Albon became the first driver to have a major incident in 2024 when he stopped his car in sector one, bringing out a yellow flag.

It was suspected that it was a reliability issue that caused him to stop, but the 27-year-old confirmed that it was a problem with the fuel pump and that it has been resolved by the team.

Albon spoke with Sky Sports F1 after the session to assess the morning test: "It was okay, it was windy out there, hot, not always generally the nicest conditions to drive in, but the issues at the end of the session are all fixed now.

"Fuel pump issue (made the car stop), and the car (went) into safety mode quite quickly."

Max Verstappen Charles Leclerc Williams Alex Albon Logan Sargeant