The “strict policy” of F1 dinner - and the truth about ‘$140k’ bill

All 20 F1 drivers went to dinner together in Abu Dhabi before the final race of the year to mark Sebastian Vettel’s retirement, with the four-time world champion exiting the sport at the end of this season.

A photo went viral on social media of a restaurant bill costing $140k but it wasn’t from the F1 drivers’ dinner, and Albon has now said: “What a load of rubbish!”

The Williams driver said about the dinner at Hakkasan: “We’re normal people. We’re not here expecting caviar on our plate and gold spoons. 

“We had a set menu, there were a lot of people with dietary requirements like obviously, Lewis Hamilton is vegan. Lewis covered the bill, very nice of him. He organised it as well, very nice of him.”

The dinner was a rare moment for rivalries to be swept to one side to celebrate the career of Vettel.

“The dinner, truthfully speaking, was really special,” Albon said. 

“It was a lot of fun. I think every driver ,[including] myself, my cheeks were aching just smiling and laughing the whole time so it was really good.

“I feel like I’ll get in trouble to say who did what. That was a strict policy of the dinner itself. We can’t say what happened. There were some very good stories being told.”

Albon finished the season 19th in the 2022 F1 standings and will be joined by a new teammate in the F1 2023 driver line-up, with Logan Sargeant replacing Nicholas Latifi.