Canadian GP session stopped as F1 star crashes after hitting animal on track | F1 | Sport
Racing was halted at the Canadian Grand Prix after Alex Albon collided with a wall while trying to evade a marmot. The 30-year-old’s bump sparked a second red flag of the session after a failure onboard Liam Lawson’s car sparked an earlier stoppage.
The Williams took a hit coming out of turn six after colliding with the wall. Albon was exiting the turn 6-7 chicane as the animal ran across the track during his natural line causing extensive damage to the left-hand side of the car which slid across the track – stopping short of the right-hand side barriers. There was medical checks on Albon but the cause of the crash was down to a groundhog running across the track. Before the race weekend, they try to move as many off the island as they can but they don’t get them all. Racing was halted for 20 minutes to fix the track and perform the clean-up following the incident before racing resumed.
The incident adds to the woes of Albon’s, who managed his first point of the season at the Miami Grand Prix. Sky Sports F1’s David Croft said: “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.”
Ted Kravitz added: “The Williams engineers and mechanics are chatting with team principal James Vowles to work out what repairs are necessary on Albon’s car. Albon is back in the garage, while the unsavoury job of cleaning his crash helmet has gone to his trainer, Patrick.
“There could not be a more unfortunate driver to hit a groundhog as his pets have their own Instagram page. You could not find more of an animal lover.”
It was an eventful first qualifying session in Montreal with a technical hitch hampering Lawson’s efforts. The two incidents happened 12 minutes apart when the New Zealand driver reported a loss of steering and hydraulic issues.
However, due to the breakdown of his car in an awkward position on the track, it gave marshals a task of removing it. Racing resumed some six minutes later with drivers awarded four minutes extra qualifying time.
Max Verstappen had been the early pacesetter ahead, Isack Hadjar and Oscar Piastri after flying around the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. However, Kimi Antonelli, George Russell, Lewis Hamilton and Piastri came charging back with the McClaren taking the lead.
