Vowles Praises “Elite” Recovery After Engine Cover Issue

A dramatic moment in Q1 at the Canadian Grand Prix saw Alex Albon’s engine cover tear away at high speed, triggering a red flag and putting his Qualifying session at risk. But what followed, according to Team Principal James Vowles, was a textbook display of composure under pressure.

“The team did a brilliant job repairing Alex's engine cover,” JV said on the latest episode of The Vowles Verdict, presented by Kraken. “And I'd also say incredibly well done to Alex. It’s an elite athlete under the most impressive pressure who went out and, in one lap, delivered what he had to.”

With just minutes remaining in Q1 after the Red Flag, Alex’s FW47 returned to the track with a new engine cover and no margin for error, before delivering the lap required to progress to Q2.

The cause of the failure, Vowles explained, stemmed from a recent development.

“Short answer is we found the root cause of it,” he confirmed. “It was a modification done for cooling a few races ago, which just weakened an area of the engine cover, letting a little bit of air in.

“As soon as you let in a little bit of air in at speed, it can balloon and explode which is what you saw happening,” James added. “And a fix is already in place.”

While the incident could have derailed Alex’s Qualifying entirely, both team and driver responded when it mattered most. With one shot remaining, Alex progressed through to Q2 before going on to qualify P10 for the Canadian GP.

You can hear more of James’ reflections from the Canadian Grand Prix, including his thoughts on Carlos Sainz’s drive to the points, in the latest episode of The Vowles Verdict, presented by Kraken.