FIA fines for Sainz and Albon trigger hilarious Russell Bahrain GP goad
12 Apr 2025 12:00 AM

George Russell had a good laugh with the Williams teammates at the Bahrain GP.
It’s already been a hectic Bahrain GP weekend for Williams teammates Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon — one full of fines!
It didn’t take long for George Russell to join in the fun to have a laugh about it, too.
The Williams fines ahead of the Bahrain GP
Poor Carlos Sainz; the Williams driver was hit with a €20,000 fine — half suspended for 12 months — because he failed to arrive on time for the national anthem ahead of the Japanese Grand Prix.
The reason? He was suffering with stomach complaints and needed a quick trip to the doctor before he hopped in the car. Despite the illness, the FIA still hit Sainz with a fine.
“I appreciate it from F1’s perspective because it’s a very important moment of the race, but also from a driver’s perspective there are hard, genuine logistical issues that sometimes you’re literally waiting to get into a bathroom cubicle,” the driver explained in a press conference ahead of the Bahrain Grand Prix.
However, he disagreed with the idea that being five seconds late should justify a €10,000 and capped off his interview by saying, “I don’t know if I’ll get another fine for saying this… but sh-t happens!”
George Russell, Mercedes driver and Grand Prix Drivers Association director along with Sainz, called the affair a “pretty expensive poo.”
And it’s still not clear if he’ll earn another penalty for swearing!
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But Sainz wasn’t the only Williams driver to net a fine in Bahrain. In Free Practice 1, Alex Albon “scared the rookie daylights” out of Luke Browning, Williams reserve driver who had taken over Carlos Sainz’s seat for his second FP1 appearance.
Browning was on an out lap while Albon was on a cool-down lap; the latter driver made a sudden move through Turn 13, forcing Browning to take evasive action.
Stewards hit Albon with a €7,500 fine for unnecessarily impeding another driver — but it was Russell who delivered the news in the press pen after FP1.
Albon had just started chatting with F1TV when Russell — conducting a different interview beside Albon — chirped, “Why don’t you tell them about crashing into your teammate, mate!”
Albon laughed, replying, “Just gotta be the alpha dog. Show them who’s boss. Gotta show them who’s number one.”
Returning to the interview, Albon was asked if he received a penalty for the incident and said no — but Russell, who seemingly had learned of the fine before Albon, corrected him.
Upon learning of the fee, Albon said, “I’m not paying that, though! That wasn’t my fault!”
“So that’s better than Carlos’ poop!” Russell laughed.
“Would you rather take a sh-t or take out your teammate?” Albon asked, giggling. He then answered his own question, saying, “Take out your teammate!”
“It’s cheaper,” Russell agreed.
Albon then went on to explain the incident with Browning to F1TV, saying it came down to “a little bit of miscommunication.
“I didn’t hear him coming on the radio, but no one’s fault really,” he said.
“We were in the middle of a very busy run plan; so was Luke. One of them things. He did a good job to miss me.”
All told, it’s been a pretty expensive weekend so far for Williams!
Read next: Our bold predictions for the Bahrain Grand Prix