Williams F1 News: Alex Albon's FP1 Retirement Explained

During Free Practice One ahead of the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, Alex Albon's session was cut short when his FW46 stopped on the side of the track. Williams Racing has indicated the shutdown was triggered by the Thai-British driver running over the kerb.

The first free practice session was disrupted after 19 minutes when Albon's Williams car unexpectedly stopped on the grass at Turn 10. The incident immediately brought out the red flags, halting the session as marshals and officials responded to the stricken car.

Williams Racing took to social media to address the incident, confirming that the car shutdown when Albon went over a kerb. The team's brief statement read:

"Alex’s car shut down after going over a kerb. The cause is currently unknown and will be investigated when the car is back."

Alex’s car shut down after going over a kerb. The cause is currently unknown and will be investigated when the car is back.
— Williams Racing (@WilliamsRacing) May 17, 2024

Luckily for the Grove-based squad, the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix weekend sees the return of the traditional format rather than a Sprint Race, meaning the team will have two more practice sessions to prepare for Qualifying tomorrow and the Grand Prix on Sunday.

The second Free Practice session will be taking place at 5pm local time (4pm UK time) so the team will now get to work on the FW46 to try and rectify the issue before then.

Currently, with fifteen minutes to go, Albon's teammate Logan Sargeant is running in 17th position.