During the second practice session at the Suzuka circuit, Logan Sargeant lost control of his Williams F1 car and subsequently crashed into the tire wall. Sargeant admits the crash was his fault but unlike Alex Albon’s crash in Australia, the chassis does not appear to be seriously damaged.
Sargeant went a little too wide in a left turn and then his wheels ended up in the grass on the right, after which he spun and landed firmly in the tire wall. The suspension and gearbox of his FW46 were seriously damaged but the chassis, which had only just been repaired after Alex Albon’s serious crash in Australia, was fortunately not seriously damaged.
“I put the car in a place I didn’t realize it was in,” Sargeant recalls his crash. “It was a stupid mistake and one I shouldn’t have made, especially in the first practice session.”
Interestingly, Sargeant made a similar mistake during last year’s race in Japan but the cause was not the same.
“It wasn’t a mistake like I made last year when I pushed too hard. Apart from that, I caused a lot of damage to the team. Luckily it wasn’t too serious, it could have been a lot worse.”
Williams is confident they can restore Logan Sargeant’s F1 car by the third practice session.
“He will be back in action in the third practice session,” said Dave Robson, head of vehicle performance at Williams. “Logan’s crash caused a lot of damage but was limited to the suspension, wings and floor. There is no damage to the chassis or power unit.”
After a first look at Logans car following the FP1 incident, there is extensive damage to the front suspension as well as the gearbox, however the chassis looks okay. The team will attempt to repair Logans car in time for FP2. pic.twitter.com/wglJqktyrD
— Williams Racing (@WilliamsRacing) April 5, 2024