Explaining his FP1 crash, Logan Sargeant insists that being dropped in Australia didn't dent his confidence.

With no spare car (until Miami) Williams was always approaching the Suzuka weekend with understandable trepidation, after all last time F1 was at Suzuka both drivers were involved in incidents - with Valtteri Bottas - that caused their subsequent retirements.

However, the team's worst fears were realised when Logan Sargeant lost control of his car at the infamous Dunlop Curve in opening practice damaging the front of the FW46.

"I just put the car in a place I didn't realise I was at," explained the American, "it's a bit of a silly error to be honest, one I shouldn't be making, especially in P1.

"Fortunately it wasn't like the mistakes last year," he added, "it wasn't an over-pushing thing. Nevertheless it still left the team with some damage. Fortunately got away better than it could have been."

Asked if his confidence had been dented after the team withdrew him from the Melbourne weekend in order to give his car to his teammate, Sargeant said: "It definitely wasn't knocked at all. If anything I came into this round after a week off feeling more fresh and ready to go than ever.

"So no, no confidence lost, I wanted to kick myself a bit after today but nothing to do with that, a visual error I'm moving forward from tomorrow."

"What you saw wasn't a driver making a mistake because they were pushing to the limits," added team boss, James Vowles. "It's a very different type of mistake, a frustrating one by all accounts, because it wasn't on the limit of what the car could do.

"There was far more turning potential in it," he continued, "he just didn't know where the car was on track, relative to where he expected it to be anyway.

"So I don't think you're seeing there the reaction of someone that wasn't driving in Melbourne, you're seeing more just a situation that could have appeared at any time."

Meanwhile, Vowles' former boss, Toto Wolff, said the decision to withdraw Sargeant in Melbourne was "brutal" but "absolutely necessary".

"A brutal, brutal, difficult situation for James and his senior team," said the Austrian, "because as a racer, you're thinking like that doesn't feel right, taking a car from one driver and giving it to the other.

"But James represents a large organisation with shareholders and investors, sponsors, a global market, and needs to maximise the points because every change of position is potentially tens of millions in difference and has long-term effects.

"Giving the car to the driver that has more probability in scoring the points is absolutely the right thing to do, as tough as it is for Logan. And I'm sure it would have been very tough for James to take that decision, but it was absolutely necessary."

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