Williams’ Las Vegas GP was a disaster, with Alex Albon retiring mid-race and Franco Colapinto finishing P14. Not a lot went right for them that weekend, except for one thing, which only Colapinto seemed to notice.
Before his outing ended in a DNF, Albon registered a speed of 229 mph (369 kph) along the straights of the Las Vegas Strip. The Thai-British driver, however, was not aware of it until Colapinto reminded him about the same in a video posted for Williams’ YouTube channel.
Both Albon and Colapinto were asked to name who was more likely to break an F1 record. The Argentine driver was quick to reply, “He f*cking just broke it.”
Curious, Albon asked what record he broke. Colapinto declared that Albon had broken the world record of speed on an F1 car in Las Vegas.
“I did?” Albon asked, amazed. The 28-year-old added that if either he or Colapinto had broken a record, Williams would have announced it on their social media.
How well do Alex and Franco know each other?
They go head to head to be crowned the ultimate teammate, in a game of Mr & Mrs
Watch the full video at the link below
— Williams Racing (@WilliamsRacing) December 16, 2024
However, there was a reason why the Grove-based team didn’t post about it. As it turns out, Colapinto was mistaken. Albon had recorded the highest-ever speed on the Las Vegas Street Circuit, but not the overall speed record in an F1 car. Furthermore, given how disappointing the whole weekend was for Williams, they likely weren’t in the mood to celebrate or boast about any records they achieved.
Albon claimed Williams had a “terrible, terrible time” in Las Vegas
Before the Las Vegas GP disappointment, Williams had endured a nightmare in Sao Paolo. Crashing three times that weekend, the British team was hoping to make amends and bounce back in Vegas. However, that wasn’t to be.
“I feel like we’ve had a terrible, terrible time of it as of late. It’s just frustrating,” Albon said after being forced to retire from the Las Vegas GP due to a power unit issue. “I was excited about the race. I felt like [we could score] great points hopefully” after making his way to P10 at one point in time after having started P17.
Colapinto didn’t make his life any easier for the Grand Prix after suffering a massive 50G impact during qualifying, which forced him to start the race from the pit lane.
With the damage sustained in qualifying, the Argentine could not finish in the top 10, leaving Williams without points for the second consecutive race
