Albon Crashes After Hitting Marmot in Montreal F1 Practice

Alex Albon’s montreal f1 Friday ended early after he hit a marmot and crashed his Williams into the wall at the Canadian Grand Prix. The hit sent the left side of the car into the barrier over several meters exiting Turn 7 and brought out the second red flag of the session.

Albon at Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve

Albon got out unharmed, but his only practice session was over before qualifying later in the afternoon for Saturday’s sprint race. He had already posted the ninth-fastest time before the incident, then dropped to 14th place, 3.240 seconds behind Kimi Antonelli.

Liam Lawson had already triggered a red flag when his Racing Bulls had problems on the Notre-Dame Island circuit, leaving Friday practice twice disrupted before the session could settle. Antonelli led the session for Mercedes.

Montreal F1 wildlife warning

A marmot tried to cross the circuit Gilles-Villeneuve in the middle of the day, and Albon could not avoid it. On Thursday, at least one marmot and birds, including geese, were seen near the circuit, even after the Société du parc Jean-Drapeau had recently relocated about 30 wild animals to improve safety around the track.

The crash added more strain to a weekend that already needed clean laps, especially for a driver who came into Montreal 16th in the drivers’ standings, tied with Esteban Ocon, with one point from four races. He scored that point earlier in the month with a 10th-place finish in Miami, and he did not finish last year’s race in Montreal.

Williams and Saturday qualifying

Williams now has one car back in the garage after a session that ended with damage rather than data, and Albon’s lost Friday running leaves less time to prepare for sprint qualifying on the Canadian Grand Prix weekend. The 30-year-old left the track without injury, but the laps he needed most were gone long before the afternoon ended.