F1 star withdrawn from Australian GP as team makes controversial decision

22 March 2024 , 09:33

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Alex Albon smashed up his Williams in a crash in Friday practice (Image: AFP via Getty Images)

Alex Albon will race at the Australian Grand Prix in team-mate Logan Sargeant 's car - ending the American's participation in Melbourne this weekend.

Albon smashed up his Williams in Friday practice, losing control of the car and smashing into the wall. It caused extensive damage, significantly to his chassis which proved to be unfixable.

Williams did not bring a spare chassis with them to Melbourne, leaving the team with a tough choice to make. And team principal James Vowles has decided their best chance of scoring points is to put Albon in the only chassis they have available.

That means Sargeant will take no further part in the action this weekend. Albon will use the American's chassis, which will have engine parts and a gearbox from his own pool for the season fitted to it.

Explaining the decision, Vowles said: "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.

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"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."

Sargeant said: "This is the hardest moment I can remember in my career and it's absolutely not easy. 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."

Sargeant's race weekend is over because of his team-mate Albon's mistake (AFP via Getty Images)

And 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."

Though the decision will be controversial, Vowles' call earned the backing of Sky Sports pundits. Karun Chandhok said: "I think this is the right call for the team to make. A lot of people are questioning it and it is a hard decision. But I think that's why people like James Vowles get put in these roles - they need to make the tough calls and, personally, I believe the swap is the right call to make."

And colleague Naomi Schiff added: "It's a tough decision, but it's a dog-eat-dog world and, at the end of the day, it always comes down to lap times. If anyone tells you lap times don't matter, it's not true. That's why it's important to be the quicker driver, that's what gives you the upper hand.

"It is tough on Logan, especially as coming into this season he seems to have made some progress. Every weekend and session provides learning for him so it is a crucial time, but unfortunately the team is going to make the decision that is best for the team."

Vowles explained that the absence of a spare chassis was because the team had prioritised getting the car into a competitive state over the winter, rather than divert any resources. He said: "We have been very open and transparent that we were pushing everything to the absolute limit across the winter to get where we are, and sacrifices had to be made.

"And one of the sacrifices, which is a risk that you take, is you bring a spare hopefully to round about round three. It pushed just away from that. And so what you're doing is suggesting that for this first part of the season, you can't have a major accident. And it has not paid off in these circumstances."

Daniel Moxon