The Williams Racing driver, Alex Albon, managed to avoid a penalty during the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix in Formula 1, when he drove with a loose wheel for an entire lap. Albon made his first pit stop on lap eight at Imola, but soon realized that something was wrong with his car. Despite being given clearance by the Williams mechanics to return to the track, it was clear that the wheel had not been properly secured on the FW46. Albon noticed the issue after going through the Tamburello chicane and decided to slow down due to the vibrations in his car. He explained that he did not feel the problem while in the pits, but as soon as he disabled the speed limiter, he immediately noticed that something was wrong. Albon emphasized that he never imagined the wheel would come off completely, estimating that the movement was only about 10 millimeters. He could see that the tire was secure to a certain extent and did not pose a significant danger. Despite his efforts, Albon was penalized with a 10-second pit stop for releasing a car in an unsafe condition during the race. This penalty ended his slim chances of scoring points. However, he was fortunate to escape additional sanctions for continuing to drive with a loose wheel, as this did not fall under the category of a classic loose wheel that is not captured by the wheel nut, according to the F1 sporting regulations. The stewards acknowledged that Albon was not aware of the exact issue with the car and had safely brought it to the pits, without affecting other competitors. They concluded that he had not knowingly driven the car in an unsafe condition.
