Carlos Sainz found himself in trouble during the third practice session in Melbourne, triggering a red flag. His Williams car came to a standstill at the pit entry, disrupting the session.
Sainz’s Stricken Williams Halts Practice
The incident occurred less than 15 minutes into FP3 at Albert Park. The Spanish driver lost drive in his FW48, leaving the car stuck and obstructing the route back to the garages.
The session was initially put under a virtual safety car with the pit entry closed. This was then upgraded to a full red flag, resulting in a stoppage of approximately eight minutes.
The red flag was the first of the F1 season.
Session Already Delayed
The session had already been delayed by 20 minutes due to barrier repairs at Turn 5. This followed a collision between two PREMA drivers in the F3 sprint, which led to that race being abandoned.
Williams on the Backfoot
The Williams car is believed to be significantly overweight. The team also missed the private shakedown in Barcelona before testing in Bahrain.
This latest setback leaves the 31-year-old Sainz further behind as the campaign begins.
Antonelli Tops the Timing Boards
Following the resumption of the session, Kimi Antonelli set the fastest time in his Mercedes. He was ahead of Lewis Hamilton’s Ferrari.
The red flag stoppage cost teams around eight minutes of running.