Written by Sophie Harvey, Edited by Vyas Ponnuri
Logan Sargeant is set to miss the remainder of the Australian Grand Prix following Alex Albon’s nasty shunt in FP1 — after confirming there is no third chassis available, Williams Racing have confirmed that Albon will take over his teammate’s car in FP3, qualifying and the race.
As FP1 entered its closing stages, Albon was seen to lose control of his FW46 through the high-speed right-hander of turn six, hitting the exit kerb at turn seven and bouncing into the barriers with a hefty shunt.
Inevitably, the British-Thai driver brought out the red flags, and whilst he escaped unscathed, the considerable damage led to him sitting out the rest of Friday’s on-track action.
Although the Williams crew soon got to work assessing the impact, Albon’s broken chassis doesn’t seem to be a quick fix. After being described to have sustained ‘extensive damage’, his car will not be returning to the track this weekend.
Ironically, the events mean that teammate Logan Sargeant will not race in Australia — Albon will take his car’s chassis for the remainder of the GP, in Williams’ bid to maximise their results.
In an official statement, Williams’ Team Principal James Vowles has spoken in response to the news. Whilst unhappy, he went on to praise Sargeant's attitude, saying:
“We are hugely disappointed that the damage sustained to the chassis has meant we need to withdraw it from the weekend. 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.”
“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."
Unsurprisingly, Sargeant is not best pleased with the news, describing it as the ‘hardest moment’ in his career so far — however, he is taking it with a positive outlook: “I am completely here for the team and will continue to contribute in any way that I can this weekend to maximise what we can do."
Is sacrificing Sargeant’s weekend the right decision for the Grove-based team? In a year that is pivotal in Williams’ success, Vowles will be hoping he has made the right decision in trusting Albon’s capabilities this weekend.
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