Williams has decided to give away Logan Sargeant’s chassis to Alexander Albon for remainder of the F1 Australian GP weekend.
It didn’t start off well for Williams and Albon in F1 Australian GP at Albert Park after the Thai crashed himself out in FP1. It happened at the Turn 6-7 sequence when he ran over the kerb and smashed onto the wall barrier on the right hand side.
It catapult on the left side as it only increased the damage. He missed FP2 as a result as Williams spent time on assessing the damage. Reports, meanwhile, emerged about the team not having a spare chassis to fit in case the damage is too big.
After delays all of winter from Williams to get parts ready, it has finally bit them hard in this weekend’s Australian GP. With only two chassis to play with, the team has had to take a hard decision where Sargeant has felt the heat despite not making a mistake.
His chassis has been given to Albon for the rest of the Australian GP weekend, with the American F1 driver to sit out for no fault of his. The Thai racer will drive in FP3, qualifying and the race, while Sargeant’s entry has been officially withdrawn.
“We are hugely disappointed that the damage sustained to the chassis has meant we need to withdraw it from the weekend,” team boss James Vowles. “It’s unacceptable in modern day Formula 1 not to have a spare chassis, but it is a reflection of how behind we were in the winter period and an illustration of why we need to go through significant change in order to get ourselves in a better position for the future.
“As a result, we have had some very difficult decisions to make this afternoon. While Logan should not have to suffer from a mistake that he did not make, every race counts when the midfield is tighter than ever, so we have made the call based on our best potential to score points this weekend.
“This decision was not made lightly, and we cannot thank Logan enough for his graceful acceptance, demonstrating his dedication to the team; he is a true team player. This will prove a tough weekend for Williams, and this situation is not one that we will put ourselves in again.
Meanwhile, Albon stated: “I have to be totally honest and say that no driver would want to give up his seat. I would never want anything like this to happen. Logan has always been a consummate professional and a team player from day one, and this won’t be an easy one for him to take. At this point though, I cannot dwell on the situation and my only job now is to maximise our potential this weekend and work with the whole team to make sure we do the best job possible.”
And finally Sargeant added: “This is the hardest moment I can remember in my career and it’s absolutely not easy. I am however completely here for the team and will continue to contribute in any way that I can this weekend to maximise what we can do.”
Here’s the crash: https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/video.2024-australian-gp-fp1-albon-crash-brings-out-the-red-flags-in-first-practice.1794193700507604969.html
Here’s how FP1 of F1 Australian GP panned out
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