The accident that took place in the late afternoon in Albert Park was unusual: in fact, in the first qualifying session of the Australian Grand Prix, Nicholas Latifi's Williams and compatriot Lance Stroll's Aston Martin collided after a misunderstanding at the end of the first sector of the track.
Q1 was almost over when Latifi decided to give way to some cars including, last but not least, Stroll's (who still didn't have a time), then changing his mind and accelerating to pass the latter on the right side of the track; at this point Stroll, without even seeing the oncoming FW44 from his mirrors, moved to the right hitting his compatriot's car, which crashed into the wall reporting extensive damage: disintegrated left rear suspension, lost wheel, and front wing demolished; 'only' damaged right front suspension for Stroll instead. The riders are doing well and have not spared themselves in the radio teams.
the penalty
The race stewards decided to penalize Lance Stroll with 2 points on his license (bringing the total to 7), and 3 positions on the starting grid, despite the fact that he would have started from last place in any case having not yet set his time.
