Albon says he will not be able to take part in the F1 Brazilian Grand Prix due to a crash in qualifying

Alex Albon says he will not take part in the Brazilian Grand Prix after a serious accident during an accident-filled qualifying session.

Due to heavy rain, qualifying on Saturday was postponed until Sunday morning at 7:30 a.m. local time. However, by the time the cars hit the track, conditions had only improved slightly.

Albon's Williams teammate Franco Colapinto was the first to show one of four red flags during qualifying as difficult conditions caused cars to be scattered across the Interlagos track.

Mexican Grand Prix winner Carlos Sainz showed the red flag again in the second qualifying session before Lance Stroll's crash ended practice early and championship leader Max Verstappen retired.

Fernando Alonso's second Aston Martin then began to wobble before Albon had the biggest shunt of all, crashing into turn one after turn while provisionally in second place on the grid.

“I think we had a problem; I know we had a problem, we just have to get through it,” Albon said of the incident in which he crashed into the wall.

“When I pressed the brake pedal, a beep immediately sounded in my ear, which usually indicates a defect, a rear lock and a major accident. So unfortunately we’re out of the race… so yeah.”

Asked if he meant that his car would not be rebuilt in time for the Grand Prix, which was brought forward to 3:30 p.m. local time, he replied: “No, it will not be repaired.”

However, Williams did not give up on getting Albon's car repaired in time to take part in the race.

Alex Albon, Williams FW46, gets out of the car after an accident in qualifying

Photo by: Andrew Ferraro / Motorsport Images

After the Q3 session resumed following Albon's crash, times improved and the Williams man was in seventh place.

However, his likely withdrawal from the race will be a blow to Williams in the constructors' battle for eighth place with Alpine, which is just one point behind ninth.

Since Albon is expected to retire from the race and Colapinto also crashed in Q1, Esteban Ocon put his Alpine on the second row, where he will start fourth alongside Yuki Tsunonda's RB.