Sargeant calls Melbourne withdrawal ‘hardest moment in my career’

Logan Sargeant describes having his entry sacrificed by Williams at the Australian Grand Prix as “the hardest moment I can remember in my career.”

The American will not take part in the rest of the race weekend in Melbourne because Williams does not have a spare chassis, and Alex Albon’s crash in FP1 damaged his to the extent that it can’t be repaired away from the team’s factory. With just one usable chassis between two drivers, Williams made the decision to allow Albon (pictured at right, above, with Sargeant) to take over Sargeant’s car, leaving the 23-year-old to watch from the sidelines.

“This is the hardest moment I can remember in my career and it's absolutely not easy,” Sargeant said. “I am, however, completely here for the team and will continue to contribute in any way that I can this weekend to maximize what we can do.”

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Albon admits he is finding the situation tough himself, but says he needs to reset to try and repay Williams’ faith with a strong performance over the remainder of the weekend.

“I have to be totally honest and say that no driver would want to give up his seat,” Albon said. “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 maximize our potential this weekend and work with the whole team to make sure we do the best job possible.”

Williams team principal James Vowles called it “unacceptable in modern day Formula 1 not to have a spare chassis” after seeing his team reduced to one car, with Williams behind on its car build over the winter as new processes and software were put in place.

Albon will not take a penalty for the Australian race as it stands, although any power unit component changes will only be confirmed when the car hits the track for the first time during FP3 on Saturday.