In Melbourne the sun has now set, but there is a garage in full swing. It's that of Williams, where the mechanics are working hard on Logan Sargeant's FW46, preparing it for… Alexander Albon.
The Grove team has decided to entrust the only chassis that remained intact after the accident in Free Practice 1 this morning which saw Albon significantly damage his, thus leaving the American driver stranded for the rest of the weekend. .
Albon, 20 minutes from the end of the first free practice session of the Australian Grand Prix, ended up losing control of his FW46 after a violent run over the curb, subsequently hitting the wall in Turn 8 with the right side of the car.
The impact caused the FW46 to bounce against the external wall of the curve, also hitting its left side. This caused serious damage to the chassis and gearbox of the Thai's car.
Williams, which arrived in Melbourne with just 2 chassis, found itself forced to try to fix the one ruined by Albon, but it wasn't enough. At that point he had to decide who to let race between Alex and Sargeant, with the former Red Bull driver chosen by the team leaders for the experience (and talent) that he boasts compared to his teammate.
Alex Albon, Williams
For this reason the mechanics are preparing Sargeant's car in such a way that Albon can continue the weekend of the Australian Grand Prix.
James Vowles, Williams team principal, commented on the choice made by the team, also underlining how unacceptable it is for an F1 team not to have at least one spare chassis on a race weekend: “We are very sorry that the damage suffered by the chassis forced us to withdraw it from the weekend. It is unacceptable in today's Formula 1 not to have a spare chassis, but it is a reflection of how far behind we were in the winter and an illustration of why we need a significant change to put us in a better position for the future.”
“As a result, we had to make some very difficult decisions this afternoon. While Logan shouldn't suffer for a mistake he didn't make, every match is important when the midfield is tighter than ever, so we made a decision based on our best potential to score points this weekend.”
“This decision was not taken lightly and we cannot thank Logan enough for graciously accepting, demonstrating his dedication to the team; he is a true team man. This will be a difficult weekend for Williams and we will not put ourselves in this situation”.
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