During the first practice session, Alexander Albon experienced a significant crash. Regrettably, his FW46 chassis incurred extensive damage that could not be repaired at the track. As a result, Williams Racing faced a substantial challenge, as the damaged chassis would need to be used for three races, spanning from the Australian GP to the Chinese GP until a replacement could be arranged.
Logan Sargeant to use a repaired chassis
Sargeant confirms he won’t be driving his original car and will instead be using the repaired Williams chassis, formerly driven by Albon, for this weekend’s race. Doesn’t foresee any issues with that as fix went better than expected. No spare until Miami.
— Will Buxton (@wbuxtonofficial) April 4, 2024
Logan Sargeant and the team have made a decision regarding his car for the upcoming race. Instead of driving his original car, he will be using the repaired Williams chassis that was previously driven by Alex Albon. Fortunately, the repair process went better than expected, and Sargeant didn’t anticipate any issues with this arrangement. However, it’s worth noting that there won’t be a spare car available until the Miami Grand Prix in early May.
Despite the time constraints, Williams opted to keep Sargeant in the ex-Albon car due to the workload involved in switching the cars back. The repair only added 100 grams to the chassis, and the damage was to a suspension insert without any cracks in the tub. Consequently, Sargeant is unlikely to notice any difference between the two cars.
The difficult decision of the team
James Vowles, the Williams team principal, explained that the late completion of the cars during the winter stressed the organization to its limits. Consequently, they didn’t have a spare chassis available even by the third round of the championship. This situation was unexpected and not ideal for a Formula 1 team.
Despite the difficulty, Vowles made the difficult decision to take Logan Sargeant out of his car and put Alex Albon in it. The midfield competition is incredibly tight, and every point matters. Vowles prioritized the team’s overall performance, even though it meant Sargeant wouldn’t race on Sunday.
READ MORE: Alex Albon Shares Photo of His Grandma When She Met Her “New Favourite Driver “
