F1 driver labels pundit 'boring old man' after helmet complaint

Williams driver Alex Albon has had his say after criticism of his Panda-themed helmet at the Chinese Grand Prix.

Formula One returned to China for the first time since 2019 last weekend, something fans and drivers alike celebrated.

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Albon donned a special 'panda' helmet for the race, complete with eyes and ears above the visor and a smiling mouth below.

It was a light-hearted nod to Chinese culture, but not everyone was impressed, with Sky F1 commentator David Croft complaining that it made the drivers hard to tell apart - something that spilled out on Ted Kravitz's 'Ted's Notebook' programme.

Albon and his Williams teammate Logan Sargeant finished 12th and 17th respectively, but they were both upbeat when Kravitz caught up with them.

Albon's Crofty jibe

"What will happen to the panda helmet? I want to know," Kravitz asked Albon. "Will you keep it? The best thing of your weekend is the panda helmet…”

Albon joked at first that it would be going "straight on eBay before asking "was Crofty complaining about it?", to which the answer came in the affirmative.

"How did you know? Did he complain to you personally?" as Kravitz

"I know he's got a funny thing about helmets - he's just a boring old man," replied Albon, laughing.

Albon finished 10th, thus garnering a point, on his last visit to Shanghai, in his debut season with Torro Rosso in 2019.

This year with Williams, driver and team leave the fifth GP on the calendar still in search of their first points of the 2024 campaign.

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