FIA confirms Williams punishment after Abu Dhabi Grand Prix investigation
The FIA is F1's governing body
Williams has been fined €5,000 for an unsafe release with Alex Albon’s car in FP3 at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, the FIA has announced.
Albon was released into the path of Esteban Ocon’s Haas during the final hour of practice at Yas Marina on Saturday.
Williams fined by FIA over unsafe release in Abu Dhabi Grand Prix FP3
It came after an identical incident between the pair in qualifying at the Qatar Grand Prix last weekend.
As reported at the time by PlanetF1.com, Williams and Albon avoided a penalty on that occasion with the stewards deciding against any further action in Qatar.
However, the team was not so fortunate in Abu Dhabi with Williams hit with a fine of €5,000 for an unsafe release.
Alex Albon vs Carlos Sainz: Williams head-to-head scores for F1 2025
👉 F1 2025: Head-to-head qualifying statistics between team-mates
👉 F1 2025: Head-to-head race statistics between team-mates
It came after it emerged that Ocon was forced to “brake almost to a stop” to avoid contact with Albon’s car.
The stewards’ verdict read: “The Stewards heard from the driver of Car 23 (Alexander Albon), the driver of Car 31 (Esteban Ocon), team representatives and reviewed video, team radio and in-car video evidence.
“This was a clear case of a release which caused another car to brake almost to a stop to avoid a collision and hence was determined to be unsafe.”
Albon went on to qualify 17th for the final race of the season with Ocon set to start eighth, outqualifying rookie teammate Oliver Bearman for a second time in three races.
More on Alex Albon and Williams from PlanetF1.com
The stewards have had a busy day on Saturday in Abu Dhabi with various drivers and teams penalised ahead of qualifying.
As reported by PlanetF1.com, the Aston Martin team was handed separate fines of €25,000 – €15,000 of each has been suspended – after drivers Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll failed to appear at a fan event on Friday.
Meanwhile, Red Bull was handed a €10,000 fine, with Yuki Tsunoda given a formal warning, after an impeding incident with McLaren driver Lando Norris in FP3.
Tsunoda later collided with Andrea Kimi Antonelli, the Mercedes driver, in the pit lane in the closing minutes of the final practice session of F1 2025.
Mercedes was fined €10,000 for the incident after acknowledging it was in a “bit of a rush” to get Antonelli back on track after a red flag stoppage for Lewis Hamilton’s accident in FP3.
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