Alex Albon suffered a big crash during FP1 in Melbourne, which caused heavy damage to his chassis. Unfortunately, the team does not have a spare chassis with them, which could force them to field just one car in the Australian Grand Prix. Auto Motor und Sport has confirmed that the Grove-based team will have to field just one car for the rest of the weekend in Melbourne. Now, Logan Sargeant could end up being the driver who gets sidelined, even though he wasn’t at fault.
Albon is the more experienced driver, and almost single-handedly carried Williams to a P7 finish in 2023. Sargeant, meanwhile, struggled throughout and crashed multiple times, adding to Williams’ repair bills. This is now being taken into account as rumors of Sargeant being sacrificed for Albon’s mistakes get stronger.
Williams may think Albon is the more dependable driver, but a huge portion of the F1 community doesn’t want the Thai-British driver to race. As the #23 driver’s car won’t be able to complete repairs at the track, as AMuS reported, James Vowles and Co. have a tough call to make between its drivers.
Journalist Tobi Gruner reported that Williams will make a decision on the same soon. Nothing has been confirmed as of yet. Vowles has mentioned that they are considering all options. Their team will be to do damage control and maximize what they can get out of this Grand Prix.
But the lack of an available chassis in Melbourne has certainly made their weekend incredibly difficult.
Reaction to Logan Sargeant being potentially sacrificed
In addition to the chassis damage, Williams will also have to change Albon’s engine and gearbox. The repair bills will certainly be high, but before that comes into question, their Australian GP weekend remains in danger.
The majority of the fanbase on X (formerly Twitter) seems to agree that Albon should be the sidelined driver. Some are also baffled at the fact that Williams traveled to a street circuit without a spare chassis.
Albert Park in Melbourne has seen several incidents over the last few years, including last year’s chaos. Williams’ lack of preparedness could end up hurting them the most, as a difficult decision awaits them. On one hand, they have Albon who is more experienced and has proven to be the better driver over the last year and a half.
On the other hand, lies Sargeant, who didn’t make any mistake. But, has a relatively inferior CV and experience to boast of.
