Early Race Chaos Prevents Alex Racing in Silverstone
Alex Albon was unfortunately taken out of contention at Silverstone, after a huge first corner crash saw him sadly eliminated from contention, before his British Grand Prix could properly begin.
The famous British weather played it's part over the course of the 2022 British Grand Prix, the home race for Alex's team - Williams Racing.
In stark contrast to the preceding Practice sessions, Qualifying brought with it rain, but not a downpour – Intermediate tyres were the order of the afternoon.
In Q1, lap times were changing with every tour of Silverstone with Alex and Nicky rising and falling throughout the session.
Through the challenging session as the Chequered Flag fell, Alex narrowly missing out on advancing into Q2 - as the Thai driver managed a 1:42.078 – eight hundredths shy of advancing, meaning he would start from P16 for Sunday's Grand Prix.
As the Grand Prix began, a huge accident between Pierre Gasly, George Russell and Zhou Guan Yu - saw the latter flip and barrel-roll into the barriers. Alex, reacting to the chaos unfold infront of him, braking in avoidance - however was collected from behind and span front first into the pit wall on the inside of the track.
Alex's FW44 was too damaged to continue, however the resulting G-Force of the crash required Alex to be admitted to hospital for further checks.
Luckily the Thai driver suffered no long term injuries and was discharged early from Coventry Hospital following all precautionary checks.
After being discharged from the hospital, Alex was in positive spirits:
Alex Albon, Williams Racing Driver #23:
“I’m very glad that everyone else involved in the first lap incident is okay.
Thank you to all the medical staff at the track and Coventry Hospital.
It’s a shame our race ended before it began today, but we are already fully focused on Austria. Bring on the next one.”
Alex will be out fight back instantly at the Red Bull Ring next weekend for the Austrian Grand Prix, on the 8-10 July.