Out of fuel and out of luck, Alex Albon booted to back of Melbourne grid

Alex Albon was dropped to the back of the grid for the Australian Grand Prix because there was not enough fuel in his Williams to provide a test sample after Saturday qualifying, officials said. The F1 website reported that Albon "stopped out on track after dropping out of Q1" and that Williams "were later unable to provide the required 1.0-litre fuel sample to the FIA." Albon finished with the 16th best time in the first qualifying run, too slow to progress to the last two sessions.

He was already facing a three-place grid penalty for his crash with Lance Stroll in the previous race in Saudi Arabia. That meant the decision to scrub out the time he recorded effectively cost him just one grid place.

"The stewards therefore disqualified the Thai driver from the results of qualifying - although he will be allowed to start Sunday's race," said the website. The penalty also lifted Stroll out of last place on the grid.

After qualifying last, the Canadian was then handed a three-place penalty for colliding with the other Williams, driven by Nicholas Latifi, on Saturday.