Alex Albon issued an apology to the Williams pitwall after his huge crash in Melbourne meant he was unable to get out on track for the second practice session of the weekend.
The Australian Grand Prix has gone through some changes to its track layout in recent years and it appeared to catch some drivers out in the first practice session.
Several drivers went off track, particularly through the high-speed chicane at Turns 10 and 11.
Max Verstappen and George Russell were among those who struggled at times to keep all four wheels inside the white lines.
Alex Albon hit two walls in FP1
SKYSPORTS
But the first practice session was red-flagged after Albon was involved in a huge crash that wrecked his Williams car.
The London-born driver lost control of his car going into Turn 8 as he went flying into the wall in front of him.
Albon then bounced to the wall on the other side of the track as the car ground to a halt with debris strewn all over the track.
The 27-year-old was asked on team radio immediately after the incident whether he was okay, to which he sheepishly replied: “Yeah… sorry.”
Lando Norris was just behind Albon on the crash and slowed down to drive through the debris with the red flag flashing across the track.
He said: “Muchos Debris… Worth checking the tyres. Is he alright? Looks pretty large.”
The red flag came with just 19 minutes remaining in FP1 and Williams were unable to get his car fixed and ready for the second practice session.
Sky Sports reporter Ted Kravitz explained: “They will not be able to fix Alex Albon’s car in time for FP2.
Alex Albon was unable to get out for FP2
GETTY
“They do have the spare parts and Alex is not injured but they’ve decided that rather than rush the job, they’re going to take their time and make sure they get the car fully repaired for FP3 Saturday morning.
“That means Alex Albon loses all the long run ability – the ability to practice his race runs to see what the tyre degradation is like.”
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Red Flag! š©
Alex Albon goes into the barriers but thankfully confirms he’s ok over team radio š» pic.twitter.com/UE9p9fsJvq
ā Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1) March 22, 2024
It proved to be a frustrating Friday for Mercedes too, particularly for Lewis Hamilton who ended FP2 in 18th.
Toto Wolff confirmed after the second practice session that they made some big changes to Hamilton’s car that had ultimately failed miserably.
He said: āIn the second session we have gone through quite a dramatic set-up change on Lewis and that has dramatically backfired, but this is why we re are having those sessions.”
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