Racing
© Jonathan Borba
Alex Albon brought out the second red flag in Formula 1’s only Canadian Grand Prix practice session after his Williams struck a marmot near Turn 7 and crashed heavily into the wall, leaving the driver unhurt but the car badly damaged just hours before sprint qualifying.
Multiple reports said Albon lost control on the exit of the Turn 6-7 section at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve when a marmot crossed the track in front of him. Onboard footage and team reporting indicated he tried to avoid the animal, but contact unsettled the FW48 and sent it hard into the barriers.
The impact caused major damage to the Williams, with the front, rear and left-hand side all affected. The medical car was deployed automatically after the heavy hit, but Albon climbed out under his own power and appeared to be in good condition.
Broadcasters initially avoided replaying the incident. David Croft, Sky Sports F1 commentator, said during the session: “We may not see a replay of the crash because there may have been a marmot involved and that Alex was trying to get out of the way out of one of the local inhabitants.”
For Williams, the timing made the crash especially costly. Montreal is a sprint weekend, so teams had only this single practice session to prepare before sprint qualifying later on Friday. Albon’s accident left the team facing a significant repair job while also losing critical setup and data-gathering time.
The disruption had already started earlier in FP1 when Liam Lawson’s Racing Bulls stopped on track with a mechanical problem, causing the first red flag. With running cut short twice in the same session, the FIA added extra time under the current sprint weekend rules: four minutes after Lawson’s stoppage and another 15 after Albon’s crash, for 19 minutes in total.
That extension underlined the scale of the interruption, but it could not give Williams back the lost preparation time or reduce the pressure on its mechanics before sprint qualifying.