Formula 1 Driver Crashes On First Lap Of Debut Testing Event

Moving up to the Formula 1 big leagues is something to celebrate. As a race car driver, you’ve finally made it to the mountaintop of your profession, with glory and financial rewards beyond imagining finally within your grasp. Unfortunately for one new driver, being a part of Formula 1 also means that if you shit the bed, the entire world will see and laugh at your misfortunes.

Noob driver Alex Albon found that out firsthand over the weekend, as he didn’t make it through even one testing lap without crashing his shiny new racing machine:

The 22-year-old made it through the first three turns of his Formula 1 Testing 2019 heat at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya in Spain, but spun out on turn four, bringing out the red flags less than five minutes into his first race at the top level. The newly-signed Toro Rosso member was out there for day two of pre-season testing, a yearly event where teams and drivers put their new cars and rosters to the test.

Though Albon wasn’t the only driver to face an early exit from his first foray onto the track, he was the only first-time driver to not even finish a single lap before having to call it quits. Sure, testing exists for low-stakes fuck-ups like this, but that doesn’t make it any less amusing to see a rookie hit the gravel that early on. I can say that as an armchair driver who would absolutely explode the engine of one of these modern marvels if I ever deigned to get inside one.

The Thai driver isn’t letting that spin-out stop him, though; Albon was back out there on Tuesday, flying through the course, a fact that his team eagerly tweeted out, like a proud papa encouraging their uncoordinated son to get back out there.