The Williams F1 team has confirmed Alex Albon will not take part in sprint qualifying in Montreal due to the extensive damage to his car.
Albon’s practice session at the Canadian Grand Prix came to a sudden stop on Friday afternoon after he hit a marmot.
The collision with the creature inflicted significant damage to the Williams challenger and ruled him out of the remainder of the session.
Williams got to work on the car after it returned to the garage, but quickly found that the repairs needed would not be completed in time for sprint qualifying.
The team has revealed that an entire power unit and gearbox changes needs to be made ahead of Saturday’s running.
“Following the incident in FP1 involving wildlife on track, Alex will not run in this afternoon’s Sprint qualifying session,” a team statement said.
“Despite the best efforts of the team to repair the car, the damage sustained was far more extensive than originally thought, requiring the gearbox and PU to be replaced.
“It’s unlucky for Alex, but we’ll look to take all the learnings from Carlos’ side of the garage to be as prepared as possible for tomorrow’s sessions.”
