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Williams have withdrawn Logan Sargeant from the 2024 Australian Grand Prix, in order to permit Alex Albon to drive his car.
Albon damaged his chassis beyond repair in a crash during FP1 at Turn 7 and despite attempts to repair the damage, Williams decided to withdraw Logan Sargeant from the remainder of the event to permit Albon to drive the American’s chassis instead due to having no spare chassis available.
Offering his thoughts on Williams’ decision, Albon felt guilty at Sargeant sitting out the rest of the weekend in order to allow him to drive his car, but thanked his teammate for his professional attitude to the situation.
“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 meanwhile described giving up his car to Albon as “… 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.”
Team Principal, James Vowles explained that the team not having a spare chassis is “unacceptable”, yet iterated that it is a reflection of how much Williams were on the back-foot in the off-season and the requirement for “significant change” to progress forward up the grid.
Vowles went on to address the importance of constructor points as behind their decision to put Albon in Sargeant’s car, despite the American having enjoyed the cleaner Friday Practice.
“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.”
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