Alex Albon says he will not take part in the Sao Paulo Grand Prix due to his serious crash late in the third quarter during qualifying on Sunday morning.

Qualifying was postponed due to heavy rain on Saturday and, despite the extremely early start time of 07:30, took place in wet conditions, causing a further delay due to several crashes. Albon had impressed by taking a provisional second place on the grid in the closing stages of the third quarter, but had a serious accident at Turn 1 and says he will not take part in the race for this reason.

“I think we had a problem – I know we had a problem, we just have to get through it,” Albon said. “I don't know. When I pressed the brake pedal, there was immediately a beep in my ear, which usually means there's something wrong, and then the rear locks and there's a big accident. I mean, that's unfortunately out of the way Run …

“It won’t be fixed.”

However, Williams has indicated that a final decision is yet to be made as the damage has not yet been fully assessed.

Despite his crash, Albon was still seventh in the standings at the end of qualifying, but once his withdrawal is confirmed, all other cars will move up one position.

Teammate Franco Colapinto crashed first in qualifying – coming off the track in Turn 3 – and the multiple delays in the session meant it was another hour and a half before Williams could get the car back to repair the damage on the rookie side to analyze the garage.

“A little bit of wheel spin caused me to lose the tail very aggressively and not be able to recover it,” Colapinto said. “First time in the wet and a bit slippery, a small mistake and I'm really sorry for the guys in the pits. It's a lot of work. Let’s see if we can make it for the race, but I feel very sorry for them.”

In addition to the two Williams cars, both Aston Martins were also seriously damaged in accidents, as was Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz, which caused doubts about the Grand Prix.