Team Williams has made the brutal call to sack driver Logan Sargeant from the Melbourne Grand Prix.
The decision comes after Sargeant’s teammate Alex Albon lost control of his Williams in Practice 1 and slammed into a wall.
WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Alex Albon crashes into fence during Practice 1.
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The Thai driver escaped without injury, but a tyre went flying from his vehicle, and there appeared to be extensive damage to the gearbox.
Albon failed to take part in second practice and Williams later revealed that it didn’t have a spare chassis.
The team, after it realised it couldn’t save Albon’s tub, later announced their No.1 driver would take over Sargeant’s car for Sunday’s race, since Albon was unable to switch to a spare car.
Alex Albon stares at his Williams after crashing out during Practice 1. Credit: Getty Images
Williams has been going through a horror start to the 2024 season and their time in Melbourne has been disappointing.
In fact, Sargeant almost took out his car at turn 11 during practice when he drove off the road.
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Williams team principal James Vowles said it was a hard decision to dump Sargeant considering he was not at fault.
“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,” Vowles said.
“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.”
The call shattered Sargeant.
“This is the hardest moment I can remember in my career and it’s absolutely not easy,” he said.
“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 do.”
The situation has been criticised but it has come about as Vowles tries to transform the team from its old ways and years of underfunding.
He has previously made the claim that Williams is always fighting for survival.
Fans were feeling for Logan Sargeant after Williams’ brutal call. Credit: Getty Images
They scrambled together one chassis just in time for the preseason testing, and their second chassis was completed just before the first race.
They seemingly ran out of money or time or both to get a third chassis.
Fans savaged and experts savaged the call to dump Sargeant.
“Hold up. ALEX ALBON crashed AGAIN and somehow LOGAN SARGEANT is pulled out??? lmao. .. This (is a) unserious team. Why even participate?” one fan blasted on X (formerly Twitter).
“This is just completely unfair to the driver that has been clean the whole weekend.”
Another said: “Logan’s confidence will be non existent for the whole season now how embarrassing of them.”
Sky commentator Ted Kravitz was also gob-smacked.
“I know Williams had an issue getting two cars ready for the start of the season but that was a month ago. If he’s damaged the tub and there’s not a spare, then he’s not going to take part in the weekend,” he said.
“And that’d be the biggest shock of the days here so far … I can’t believe they don’t have a spare tub here.”
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