The 2024 Qatar GP could have been an extremely straightforward race if Alex Albon did not stir things up. Driving towards the back end of the grid, the Williams driver lost his rearview mirror, which caused a lot of disturbance on the track and even brought out a safety car. Albon, however, didn’t try to justify what happened. Instead, he owned up to it and took full credit.
In the media pen post-race, Albon was asked about the incident, and why his mirror fell off. After thinking long and hard about how to respond, the Thai-British driver decided to joke about it, saying, “I was at the back of the field. So there wasn’t much use for it anyway.”
“Why not get rid of it, save some weight,” Albon, who finished 15th, added. “I think I made the race exciting, no?”
they asked him about the mirror and he said he was in the back of the field so there wasn’t much use for it anyway pic.twitter.com/8n9h94j9Ja
— alex albon’s pr manager (@leclercize) December 2, 2024
To be fair to Albon, he did. It was his mirror falling off which kickstarted a chain reaction. It fell off from his FW46 on lap 29 of the Grand Prix, but for six whole laps, no one on the track saw it. Then, Sauber’s Valtteri Bottas made contact with it and broke into several pieces which sprayed debris all over the main straight.
Although nothing was certain, Lewis Hamilton punctured his tire because of it, as did Carlos Sainz, both of whom had their respective races ruined. Additionally, it also led to Lando Norris receiving a penalty, since he failed to slow down under yellow-flag conditions leading up to the safety car.
He had to stop-and-go in the pit lane for 10 seconds, which took away his chances of getting a podium, limiting Norris to a P10 finish.
Seven years of bad luck for Albon?
A superstition that originated in ancient Rome, it is said that breaking a mirror brings you seven years of bad luck. Albon unfortunately, broke his yesterday, which could spell trouble for his F1 career in the years to come.
Alex albons right side mirror, you wont be forgotten❤️ pic.twitter.com/hUHusnCjnX
— 4D1TYA (@4D17Y45) December 1, 2024
It is possible that contact with Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll damaged Albon’s challenger, which ultimately led to the mirror falling off. Maybe Stroll will be the driver who receives bad luck in F1? That is, if he remains in the sport for seven years.
2024, overall, has not seen luck favor Albon whatsoever anyway. With 12 points, Albon is 16th in the Championship standings with one race remaining. He would be hoping for a better season in 2025, having signed a long-term contract with Williams earlier this year.
