Red Bull boss Christian Horner hopes Alex Albon can quickly forget the crash which put him out in Practice 2 at the Bahrain Grand Prix.
The Thai driver caused one of two red flags under the lights at Sakhir after being caught out by a combination of Astroturf and the dusty run-off area having run wide at the final corner.
It was another moment which certainly didn’t cover the under pressure Albon in glory, particularly as one of the options to replace him, Sergio Perez, almost matched Max Verstappen in the Racing Point.
But reflecting on the accident, Alex admitted he just pushed a bit too hard.
“It was just one of those things, I should have pulled out of it really,” he said on Sky Sports. “I was a bit surprised by the lack of grip. Quite a difficult, awkward angle them crashes so not fun, but it’s all good.”
Analysing his day overall, Albon added: “In first practice, the car was feeling pretty good straight away, then in second practice, if anything I tried a couple of things that didn’t quite work out, but actually more on the driving, I’m just getting up to speed.”
As for Horner, he downplayed any lasting effects of the crash for the rest of the weekend.
“Frustrating. Thankfully Alex is OK, that’s the main thing,” he said. “Obviously there’s a lot of superficial damage.
“The monocoque looked OK, the engine looks OK, it’s not a race gearbox but it’s certainly going to keep the guys busy tonight.”
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On Albon personally, though, the Briton hopes he will quickly move on.
“He’s just got to try and put it out of his mind because actually in Istanbul and so far this weekend in terms of characteristics and a feeling for the car it’s been getting better and better,” he explained.
“His feedback has been very consistent with that of Max’s, so it’s a great shame that he’s had that accident.
“He didn’t get a first lap on the medium tyres, so he just has got on to the back foot and that accident obviously doesn’t help.”
