Williams’ decision to sideline Logan Sargeant for the Australian GP might have broken the American’s heart, but the team made sure to take care of one of his biggest fans. A fan who flew to Melbourne from the US was shattered to see her favorite driver’s car go to Alex Albon, but Williams made a heartfelt gesture to make up for it.
On X (formerly Twitter), a fan with the username @vestivibes revealed her dismay when Williams announced Sargeant’s withdrawal from the race. This post got a lot of views, and seemingly, the Williams admin came across it.
Just one day later, she posted another update, happily sharing that Williams invited her to the team’s garage. She got front-row seats for the team’s qualifying day operations and saw her favorite driver closely. She wrote,
“I got the amazing opportunity to meet Logan as well as the chance to watch qualifying from the garage!!! Thank you so much to Williams for this unbelievable experience and a big thank you to Logan for a moment of his time to be able to talk to him.”
This fan wasn’t the only one upset over Sargeant’s removal from the Australian GP. Albon’s massive shunt wrecked his own car, which was deemed undrivable for the rest of the race weekend. Therefore, the team had to make a tough call and get the more experienced driver behind the wheel of the only car they had at their disposal. This wasn’t a move that pleased the general public, though.
Why Williams was brutal with Logan Sargeant decision
In tracks like Albert Park, crashes aren’t too uncommon. As a result, teams usually carry a spare chassis and other parts with them, so that they can repair their cars overnight, in case of a shunt before the race. Unfortunately, Williams did not have any spare parts to repair Albon’s chassis.
This was an unacceptable situation as team boss James Vowles stated. However, at this stage of the season, Williams could simply not afford the same.
As a result, they could field just one car. Since Albon is the more experienced driver, and has outperformed Sargeant for over a year, James Vowles felt that the Thai-British driver was their best chance of finishing in the top 10. He starts the race from P12 on the grid.
