Australian Grand Prix red-flagged after Alex Albon crashes out in Melbourne

Alex Albon in the Williams garage putting on his fireproofs. Bahrain March 2023
Alex Albon’s impressive Australian Grand Prix is over after he crashed heavily into the tyre barriers in lap 7.
The British-Thai driver had been running in P6 at the time of his crash which saw him ride too much on the inside kerb and lose all control of the car, taking a heavy shunt into the wall.
It was the second instance of a dramatic opening to the race in Albert Park with Charles Leclerc having earlier seen his race over at the third corner after the first lap after being tagged by Lance Stroll.
Albon’s dramatic crash, from which he walked away from seemingly unscathed, brought out the Safety Car shortly followed by the red flag which was bad news for race leader George Russell who pitted under the Safety Car while Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton stayed out.
It was later revealed that it was the gravel that was thrown onto the track that brought out the flag.
More to follow