FP1 Canada: Albon hits the wall…due to a marmot

Fault of a marmot The Canadian weekend opens up on a steep note for Williams. Alex Albon during the only free practice session this weekend, just before the halfway point, was the first driver to ‘taste’ – against his will – the walls of the Montreal track. The Thai went off the track in the stretch between turns 7 and turn 8, on the long straight that precedes the turn 8-9 chicane. The real peculiarity, however, is the reason for his accident: the Williams representative in fact had a close encounter with a marmot, as also reported by his own team. Unfortunately Albon was unable to avoid the collision with the unfortunate animal, he lost control of the car and hit the wall. For the #23 there were no physical problems after the crash but the damage to the car was quite extensive and will force the Williams mechanics to do extra work in view of this evening’s Sprint qualifying. The hope is that there will be no other riders after him during this weekend who will be forced to get to know the walls of the track named after Gilles Villeneuve, who have in their own way written the history of the Canadian GP since racing began here in 1978, and – despite themselves – also with the marmots who live in this area.

Automobile Magazine – F1 English News , 2026-05-23 03:10:00