Albers unplugged down under.

Christijan Albers' hopes of giving Spyker F1 a solid finish to start its first full season in Formula One were dashed early in the Australian Grand Prix as the Dutchman succumbed to perhaps the most bizarre retirement of the season to come.

Having qualified on the back row, the only way was up for Albers in the 58-lap encounter, but he only made it as far as lap ten before plunging into the gravel trap at turn three. There had been no mechanical reason for the off, he later revealed to British broadcaster ITV, adding that his attention had been diverted at a crucial moment.

"There is a cable that's stuck to ear plug, and I was just searching to try and get rid of it," he explained, "I missed my braking zone and just went straight ahead."

The Dutchman had actually started the race from the pit-lane after swapping to Spyker's spare car, and had made up a couple of places by the end of the first lap. The 27-year old showed good pace during his short spell on track, giving the team encouragement for future races.

"I started the race in the spare as I wasn't happy with the balance of my race car after qualifying," he revealed, "I had a good start and put in some fast times in the first ten laps, but unfortunately I made a mistake and went off. It's a shame for the team, but we can only improve on this performance in Malaysia."