Alex Albon on returning to “old school” racing after Las Vegas radio issues

Williams Formula 1 driver Alex Albon described his team radio issues during the Las Vegas Grand Prix as "old school" racing.

Williams relied on pit boards to communicate with the Thai-British driver during the race around the streets of Las Vegas, and footage has also emerged of him trying to indicate to the team to change his front wing.

"Yeah, well we didn't have radio at any point in the race, so throwback, kind of old school stuff," Albon told the media after the race.

"Pit boards out, but it was a shame because after lap 1, with all the crashing and everything, there was clearly damage on the car, but it was hard to know if it was safe to drive.

"You're just kind of just, 'Oh it's turning.' I know there was damage because I hit the car in front, and I think I got hit from the back."

After starting from 16th on the grid, Albon was forced to retire from the race.

"If you think about it, no radio, no awareness of blue flags, all kinds of things can happen," he said about what led to the retirement.

Alexander Albon, Williams

"Even just some little things like safety cars and debris on the track, kind of having to discover it myself and all those kinds of things, so you can imagine it's not ideal. On a track like Vegas, it's a bit dangerous, so we cut it short. "It's frustrating because I think it's clearly an opportunity missed, I think we've been very strong in terms of pace, and even in the race when I had clear air, I was very quick."

Albon currently sits eighth in the drivers' standings with 73 points, ahead of the final two rounds of the season. He now looks ahead to the Qatar Grand Prix, which is set to host the final sprint race of the season.

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