Alex Albon’s Monaco Grand Prix weekend has had not the best of starts as he crashed into the barriers right at the end of the first practice session. As a result of his collision, race control decided to red-flag the session immediately.
Since just over three minutes were remaining for FP1 to get over, race control decided against restarting it as sufficient time was not available to repair the barriers. Hence, now all the drivers and the teams can only resume their practice tests later in the day during FP2.
🚩 RED FLAG 🚩
Alex Albon has crashed out of Sainte Devote. He reports he is okay over the radio
The session will not be resumed#MonacoGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/fauEr8qv2q
— Formula 1 (@F1) May 26, 2023
What resulted in Alex Albon’s crash?
Alex Albon crashed into the barriers near the start-finish line after he lost the rear of his Williams. With him having lost control, his car went sliding into the barriers, with the impact enough to dislodge both the left front and rear tires.
El fuerte golpe de Alex Albon que provocó la bandera roja con la que finalizó el primer entrenamiento de la Fórmula 1 en Mónaco. El tailandés no sufrió consecuencias físicas, pero dañó mucho el Williams. Carlos Sainz dominó la sesión, seguido por Fernando Alonso y Lewis Hamilton. pic.twitter.com/4DlcjoizZA
— Diego Zárate (@diegozarateof) May 26, 2023
Fortunately for him, he relatively escaped unscathed with just a small impact on his knees. When asked if he was ‘okay‘ on the Williams team radio, Albon replied, “Yeah I just banged my knees but I am fine“.
Until the point of his crash, Albon had a relatively strong FP1 session as he clocked the tenth-fastest time. His lap time was quicker than not only his Williams teammate Logan Sargeant but also faster than the Mercedes of George Russell.
Albon hopes weather surprises can boost Williams’ chances of a strong result
While speaking to the media ahead of the Monaco GP weekend, Alex Albon explained (as quoted by planetsport.com) how he hopes for some surprises with the weather to make the race more unpredictable. He added that since Williams have a competitive package, surprises with the weather can really boost their chances of a good points scoring finish.
Albon, who will be competing in his fourth Monaco GP this weekend, will hope for a strong result after a disappointing start to the 2023 season. The Thai driver has so far scored just one point after the first five races despite having a much more competitive package as compared to previous seasons.
