Groundhog Day For Alex Albon: Marmot Crash Wrecks Williams In Canadian GP | WATCH

Last Updated:May 23, 2026, 11:00 IST

Alex Albon crashed heavily during Canadian GP practice after hitting a marmot at Turn 7, leaving Williams scrambling to repair major damage.

It was quite literally Groundhog Day in Montreal for Alex Albon.

The Williams driver endured a bizarre and brutal start to the Canadian Grand Prix weekend on Friday after a collision with a marmot sent his car heavily into the wall at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.

The crash triggered the second red flag of an already chaotic sole practice session ahead of sprint qualifying, with Albon suffering extensive damage to his FW48 after slamming into the barriers exiting Turn 7.

Thankfully, the Thai-British driver climbed out of the wreckage under his own power despite the severity of the impact, which forced the deployment of the medical car.

However, the incident sadly resulted in the death of the marmot involved in the collision.

Broadcasters initially avoided showing replays of the crash, though onboard footage quickly spread across social media and appeared to show Albon attempting to avoid the animal before losing control and hitting the wall.

A Nightmare Session For Williams

The hour-long session at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve was already littered with interruptions, with incidents involving Liam Lawson and Esteban Ocon also contributing to delays.

The stoppages eventually forced officials to extend the session by 19 minutes.

After the session, Williams team principal James Vowles admitted the damage to Albon’s car was severe.

“Front corner, rear corner, floor, front wing, suspension," Vowles told Sky Sports F1.

Williams mechanics are now locked in a race against time to rebuild the car before sprint qualifying.

“It’s one of the risks of this circuit," Vowles explained.

“I know that sounds strange perhaps to people who aren’t used to it, but there are marmots across the 26 years or so we’ve been coming here."

The Williams boss also revealed Albon’s immediate frustration stemmed from losing valuable track time during the only practice session of the sprint weekend.

“In these sprint sessions, you get 60 minutes. That’s it," Vowles said.

“To lose over half of it is frustrating."

Still, Albon apparently found room for a little humour after returning to the garage.

“He’s more worried about his mum," Vowles joked, “but suspects he’s going to have to pay to adopt a family of marmots."

News sports formula-one Groundhog Day For Alex Albon: Marmot Crash Wrecks Williams In Canadian GP | WATCH

Read More