F1 driver disqualified from charity virtual Imola GP featuring Real Madrid star

21 May 2023 , 14:42

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The moment Albon was disqualified from the race (Image: WilliamsEsports/Twitch)

Alex Albon was disqualified from a charity Formula 1 race held in the absence of the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix this weekend.

Albon and his fellow F1 stars were due to be taking to the Imola track for the sixth race of this season. But heavy rain and flooding in the region led to organisers taking the decision to call off the event.

Drivers have been doing different things with their unexpected weekends off, but Albon was still racing in another way. He took part in a virtual event set up by his Williams team, with the aim of raising money to support the clean-up effort in Italy.

Albon was joined by his team principal James Vowles and a host of seasoned sim racers, while Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois also got involved. Mercedes also took part by fielding their own sim racers, James Baldwin and Bono Huis, in the event.

The quarter-distance race was streamed on Twitch for fans to watch while clips were also posted on the Williams Esports social media channels. So fans noticed when Albon landed himself in hot water with the computer-generated stewards.

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For ignoring blue flags on too many occasions, Albon was disqualified from the race on lap 13, while Vowles was also penalised by the stewards. He finished the event in 10th place, while the race was won by Shanaka Clay.

Teams have been packing up everything they had set up in the Imola paddock to move it to Monaco (Getty Images)

Reacting to his disqualification, Albon said: "The problem is I was literally trapped, because I was out of sync because of those soft tyre spins at the start of the race, I had to pit super early and ended up with blue flags for the whole race, or just trying to race. So here I am!"

Max Verstappen is also competing in his own virtual event this weekend, organised by his Team Redline outfit. A swathe of other Red Bull junior drivers are taking part in that, along with several others from different racing series.

As for the real-life racing action, F1 returns next weekend for the Monaco Grand Prix. Many of the teams have already packed up their equipment from Imola to transport it to the principality and no delays are expected for that race weekend.

Daniel Moxon