Williams has withdrawn Logan Sargeant from this weekend’s Australian Grand Prix in place of teammate Alex Albon, who crashed heavily during the opening free practice.
With the damage sustained, the team was forced to withdraw Albon’s chassis from the remainder of the event. No spare one was on hand in Melbourne, leading to the decision to allow the Thai driver to take the American’s seat.
“We are hugely disappointed that the damage sustained to the chassis has meant we need to withdraw it from the weekend,” said Team Principal 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.”
Albon adds, “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.”
Sargeant admits he’s disappointed to sit out the race but remains committed to the team’s cause.
“This is the hardest moment I can remember in my career, and it’s absolutely not easy,” he said. “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.”
McLaren’s Lando Norris went on to top the opening practice outing with a best lap of 1:18.564, just 0.018 seconds quicker than defending champion Max Verstappen.
George Russell, Charles Leclerc, Yuko Tsunoda and Sergio Perez followed, respectively, with less than one-tenth of a second separating the top six.
Oscar Piastri was tenth, one place ahead of fellow hometown hero Daniel Ricciardo.
Albon’s crash came with 20 minutes remaining in the session. He took too much kerb at Turn 7, sending the car hard into the outside wall before it bounced across the track and collected the Turn 8 barriers. A lengthy red flag was required to remove the vehicle and a significant amount of debris.
Leclerc’s 1:17.277 in FP2 was the fastest of the day and bettered second-quickest Verstappen by nearly four-tenths. Carlos Sainz, recovering well from his recent surgery to remove his appendix, Lance Stroll and Alonso completed the top five.
Formula 1 returns to the track twice on Saturday, with FP3 at 2.10 pm (NZ Time) and qualifying at 5.30 pm. The 2024 Australian Grand Prix begins at 5.00 pm on Sunday and will be shown live on Sky Sport 5.
