23/03/2024
NEWS STORY
Understandably, Williams decision to withdraw Logan Sargeant from this weekend's Australian Grand Prix has not gone down well.
The move, which comes in the same week that Zak Brown opined that all F1 teams are worth "north of £1m", follows the revelation that the Grove outfit was until recently using an Excel spreadsheet to track spare parts, and just a year after team boss James Vowles admitted that much of the team infrastructure hasn't been updated for twenty years.
As Williams announced its plan to withdraw Sargeant in order that teammate Alex Albon could take over his car, it led to a backlash on social media, with fans claiming that the treatment of the American driver reflected the sport's attitude to countryman Michael Andretti's bid to enter the sport.
While this might be somewhat tenuous, the fact is that no team should be this unprepared, and Vowles agrees.
"This decision was not made lightly," he said, "and we cannot thank Logan enough for his graceful acceptance, demonstrating his dedication to the team; he is a true team player.
"It's unacceptable in modern day Formula 1 not to have a spare chassis," the Briton admitted, "but it is a reflection of how behind we were in the winter period and an illustration of why we need to go through significant change in order to get ourselves in a better position for the future. As a result, we have had some very difficult decisions to make this afternoon.
"This will prove a tough weekend for Williams, and this situation is not one that we will put ourselves in again," he continued. "We are hugely disappointed that the damage sustained to the chassis has meant we need to withdraw it from the weekend."
Check out our Friday gallery from Melbourne here.