Williams withdraws Sargeant from Australian GP as Albon will get his F1 automotive

Albon suffered a giant accident throughout Friday morning’s first free apply session, which prompted a chassis change for the Anglo-Thai driver.

As a result of Williams did not have a spare chassis at its disposal, the Grove staff has determined to let Albon use team-mate Sargeant’s automotive, that means the American will sit out the remainder of the Melbourne weekend.

“Whereas Logan shouldn’t need to undergo from a mistake that he didn’t make, each race counts when the midfield is tighter than ever, so we have now made the decision based mostly on our greatest potential to attain factors this weekend,” staff boss James Vowles stated.

“This determination was not made calmly, and we can’t thank Logan sufficient for his sleek acceptance, demonstrating his dedication to the staff; he’s a real staff participant. It will show a troublesome weekend for Williams, and this case will not be one that we are going to put ourselves in once more.”

“I’ve to be completely sincere and say that no driver would wish to quit his seat,” stated Albon, who was accountable for 27 of Williams’ 28 factors scored through the 2023 season. 

“Logan has all the time been a consummate skilled and a staff participant from day one, and this may not be a straightforward one for him to take.

“At this level although, I can’t dwell on the scenario and my solely job now’s to maximise our potential this weekend and work with the entire staff to verify we do one of the best job attainable.”

Sargeant stated it was the “hardest second” of his profession to overlook out on the remainder of the Australian Grand Prix.

“That is the toughest second I can bear in mind in my profession and it is completely not simple,” he commented.

“I’m nevertheless fully right here for the staff and can proceed to contribute in any means that I can this weekend to maximise what we will do.”

In response to Vowles, Williams not having a 3rd chassis in Melbourne was an indication of the delays it confronted this winter to get the FW46 prepared in time.

“It is unacceptable in modern-day System 1 to not have a spare chassis, however it’s a reflection of how behind we had been within the winter interval and an illustration of why we have to undergo vital change with a purpose to get ourselves in a greater place for the longer term,” Vowles added.

Chatting with Motorsport.com earlier than the choice was made, Vowles defined that not taking a 3rd chassis was one of many dangers the staff had taken to push its improvement to the restrict.

Commenting on the crash itself, Albon stated he was shocked by how the automotive snapped after bouncing over the Flip 6 exit kerbs.

“Simply exploring somewhat bit, went a bit huge, had a little bit of an aggressive sort of kerb strike, and it lifted up the entrance,”  he defined.

“I truthfully did not assume something of it on the time, I believed: ‘Okay, it is tremendous. I am going to clearly simply again out and let the automotive land.’

“However once I did land I bottomed out fairly badly and it simply sort of slapped me.”

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