Alex Albon and Oliver Bearman involved in rare FP1 crash at Mexican Grand Prix

A collision between Alex Albon and Oliver Bearman resulted in a red flag during the first practice at the Mexico City Grand Prix.

With 35 minutes remaining in the first practice session at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, the two cars made contact – resulting in a hefty impact for Albon.

Oliver Bearman and Alex Albon collide on track

Bearman, sitting in Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari for the session as the Scuderia ticks off a rookie driver requirement, appeared to back off through the esses in the second sector to allow the fast-approaching Albon through.

The Williams driver was pushing hard on a flying lap and, seemingly slightly wrong-footed by Bearman’s positioning, lost the rear at high-speed with what looked like lift-off oversteer.

Attempting to get the car back under control, he was powerless to avoid hitting Bearman’s Ferrari. The collision sent Albon’s car flying through the escape area with his right-rear wheel knocked askew, and he hit the barriers hard with his left side parallel to the tyres.

Bearman, suffering damage to the left-hand side of the Ferrari, wasn’t able to get back to the pits under his own power and stopped on track as the red flags were shown – the British driver incredulous at his bad luck coming so early in the session.

Albon was heard on team radio branding the rookie an “idiot” for the collision, while the Medical Car showed up to pick up the British-Thai racer and bring him back to the pits.

The incident has been noted by the stewards for a possible investigation following the session.

Speaking to Sky F1, Williams team boss James Vowles dubbed the collision as “frustrating” but said he’s waiting for a clearer picture on what had unfolded.

“Alex had to back out of it, lost the car, as he did with the car, effectively, on the apex,” he said.

“Yeah, the car doesn’t really step out there.

“What happened is he lifted off at that stage because he saw the car right where the car he was going to be as a trajectory.

“The bit I need to understand is, was Oli warned? Obviously, no driver wants to potentially be in the way.

“As long as the chassis is okay, we’ll be fine, I think, for FP2.

“By fine, I mean the teams in the garage will be working flat out the next few hours.

“But, if the chassis is damaged, it’s a bit more of a significant time.”

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