Following his crash in FP1, Alex Albon will drive Logan Sargeant's car for the remainder of the Australian Grand Prix weekend.

The team doesn't have a spare chassis available for the Thai driver following his crash, and as a result has made the decision to withdraw his teammate and place Albon in the American's car.

Following Alex Albon's accident during FP1, Williams confirms that due to the extensive damage sustained, it is forced to withdraw the chassis for the remainder of the Grand Prix," explained the team. "The chassis will be returned to Grove for repair.

"Due to the fact that a third chassis in unavailable, the team can confirm that it has taken the decision for Alex to compete for the remainder of the weekend in the chassis that Logan Sargeant drove in FP1 and FP2.

"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," explained team boss, James Vowles, "so we have made the call based on our best potential to score points this weekend.

"This decision was not made lightly," he added, "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."

"I have to be totally honest and say that no driver would want to give up his seat," said Albon. "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."

"This is the hardest moment I can remember in my career and it's absolutely not easy," admitted the American. "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."

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READERS COMMENTS

1. Posted by ffracer, 22/03/2024 13:22

"Hmmm, wonder if there's more and don't need the spindoctors reeking havoc again. Did they also notice flawed parts on the spare as well with not enough time to (build/send) spares to Oz?"

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2. Posted by kenji, 22/03/2024 12:23

"There's the 'no claim' bonus gone for another year!"

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3. Posted by Motorsport-fan, 22/03/2024 11:24

"Does this read, they did not send a spare chassis, or we did not have a spare chassis to send? either way sorry state of affairs."

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4. Posted by Kkiirmki, 22/03/2024 11:03

"So, Sargeant was worthy of a second season, even after an extremely mediocre 2023, but we don’t think he’s good enough to race in Melbourne? Let’s hope Albon brings home a whole bunch of points to justify this decision."

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5. Posted by Burton, 22/03/2024 10:35

"At such a late and pivotal stage of the season and with the WDC on the line, I completely understand this decision..."

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Sargeant withdrawn from Australian GP

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