FIA Issues Apology Over Alex Albon Q1 Mistake: 'We Got It Wrong'

The FIA has publicly accepted responsibility for its role in Williams' Alex Albon being eliminated during Q1 after the governing body failed to review Sauber's Nico Hülkenberg's lap in time.

Albon finished Q1 narrowly missing the cutoff as Hulkenberg crossed the line with a faster lap time.

Albon was on a flying lap to close out the session, but he could not improve his time sufficiently to advance from the first qualifying stage.

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The FIA later reviewed Hulkenberg's lap and found he went off the track at Turn 11, leading to the lap time being deleted for track limits.

The decision did not come until 40 minutes after Q1 was over, leaving Albon without the chance to compete for a higher position.

Given that his teammate Carlos Sainz reached Q3, Albon may have also secured a top 10 spot.

FIA comment on the Hulkenberg track limits incident says Turn 11 wasn't a high priority corner so wasn't checked in time before Q2 started.

Holds its hands up with a final line admission: "On this occasion, we got it wrong." #F1 #BahrainGP
— Chris Medland (@ChrisMedlandF1) April 12, 2025

“Track limit hot spots are given precedence," the FIA explained in a statement after the session.

“Based on previous sessions, Turn 11 was not deemed to be an area of focus for track limits. In hindsight, it should have been higher on our priority list as a corner.”

“Unfortunately, in this case due to the timing of the check it was not possible to act before the start of Q2. As soon as we became aware of the incident, we acted on it.

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“We are building towards increased resources and improved systems and processes. On this occasion, we got it wrong.”

Williams Team Principal James Vowles was understandably upset with the timing and delay in action from the FIA, as it impacted Albon's race start.

"Yeah, I'm not feeling good about this. It's frustrating," Vowels told Sky Sports.

"Obviously the track limits are analysed live, but the result for Hulkenberg came way after we would have had an opportunity to go to Q2, and today Alex had the pace to make it all the way to Q3."

We didn’t get it right with traffic in qualifying today which really cost us. We left a lot on the table but we have strong race pace so let’s turn it around and maximise tomorrow. pic.twitter.com/UthDHIJ1dn
— Alex Albon (@alex_albon) April 12, 2025

"I think in Q1 it wasn't the best out lap and we were blocked quite significantly."

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"What we need to understand, and I'm waiting for a report from the FIA, is why was this analysed so much later than that, because it's not one position gained, it could be many positions."

“What I'd like to understand now is why this happened; [but] it's not going to rectify the positions, the position is where it is on the grid."

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