Albon to take over Sargeant’s car for the rest of the weekend

Following the opening day in Melbourne, Williams have confirmed they’ve withdrawn Logan Sargeant from the rest of the Australian Grand Prix weekend, together with his team-mate Alex Albon taking over his car.

Following the Thai driver’s accident throughout the opening one-hour session, Williams carried out an intensive investigation to discover out whether or not the chassis could possibly be rebuilt for the rest of the Melbourne spherical.

However, the crew have now confirmed that due to the intensive injury sustained, they’re pressured to withdraw the chassis for the the rest of the weekend. Albon’s chassis might be returned to the crew’s HQ at Grove for restore.

Due to the reality {that a} third chassis is unavailable, Williams have confirmed that Albon will take over Logan Sargeant’s car to compete for the the rest of the weekend in the chassis that Logan Sargeant drove in FP1 and FP2.

Expanding on the choice, Team Principal James Vowles mentioned: “We are vastly disenchanted that the injury sustained to the chassis has meant we want to withdraw it from the weekend. It’s unacceptable in modern-day Formula 1 not to have a spare chassis, however it’s a reflection of how behind we had been in the winter interval and an illustration of why we want to undergo important change so as to get ourselves in a greater place for the future. As a end result, we now have had some very tough choices 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.”

Speaking of his day, Albon added: “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.”

Meanwhile, Sargeant described the choice as the “hardest moment I can remember in my career”.

“This is the hardest moment I can remember in my career and it’s absolutely not easy,” Sargeant added. “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.”