If something could go wrong for Alex Albon at the Canadian Grand Prix, it did. The Williams driver endured a weekend that started with a freak accident and ended with him being collected by a McLaren.
It began in the only practice session, when Albon struck a groundhog and crashed out. The damage was severe enough to also force him to miss sprint qualifying, wiping out almost all of his preparation before he had completed a representative lap.
The race offered a brief reprieve. Albon felt he was making good progress through the field and was closing on a points-paying position when, on lap 12, the weekend turned again. Oscar Piastri, running two cars back, appeared to lose all grip and speared into the side of the helpless Williams with a heavy impact, ending Albon's afternoon.
Albon was measured about the clash and accepted there had been no malicious intent, which was obvious given Piastri's loss of control. The McLaren driver did not shy away from responsibility afterwards.
"Obviously the damage was a shame, and apologies to Alex and to Williams," Piastri said. "Certainly wasn't intentional. Just locked up and went to the side of him."
"We've got a tricky car, and we're also not getting many laps learned from it," Albon said.
That combination of reliability issues, accidents and disrupted weekends has left Albon consistently on the back foot, with barely any uninterrupted mileage to get on top of the Williams. The contrast with the other side of the garage is stark: team-mate Carlos Sainz has now banked three points finishes while Albon has been left to absorb one setback after another.
The Montreal weekend, in microcosm, captured his year. A groundhog took out his Friday, the lost track time compromised his Saturday, and a rival's mistake ended his Sunday before he could show what the car was capable of.
Albon will hope Monaco offers the one thing Canada never did: a clean run from start to finish.
---
