Alex Albon ruled out of FP2 following major shunt in first Australian GP practice

Alex Albon will miss the entirety of the second F1 practice session for the Australian Grand Prix following his crash in FP1.

Albon caused the only red flag stoppage in the opening 60 minutes of running at Albert Park on Friday.

The Thai driver took too much kerb heading into Turn 6, giving him a snap of oversteer in the process.

He slid across and clipped the barrier on the inside of Turn 7 before hitting the outside wall at the subsequent corner.

Albon wasn’t injured by the shunt but will sit out of FP2 as Williams “assess the damage.”

Williams announced on their official X account: “Further to Alex’s accident in FP1, we can confirm that he will not participate in FP2 while we continue to assess the damage.

“Alex was uninjured in the incident.”

Up until then, it had been a productive session for Albon and Williams.

He ended the session 12th overall despite missing the final 10 minutes of action.

Ahead of the weekend, Albon was optimistic about Williams’ chances given their strong form in Melbourne previously.

“I'm excited to be back in Melbourne; it's always a great vibe around the city and the fans are very passionate about racing,” Albon said.

“I'm looking forward to getting back in the car and testing out how the FW46 goes around Albert Park as Melbourne has always been a good track for us, so I'll be interested to see if it's still a strength.

“Hopefully we can do a good job this year and learn more about how our car performs with its changes in characteristics.

“It's one of the best and most enjoyable tracks that we go to and the fans always put on a good show, so I'm very excited.”