Logan Sargeant says a loss of hydraulics and power steering on his Williams caused his crash and exit from Sunday's Dutch Grand Prix.
The young American - who had started tenth, his best position on the grid year-to-date - was running last in the opening stages of the race, having braved the daunting conditions at the start on the soft tyre, like his teammate Alex Albon, while the bulk of the field had switched to inters following an opening lap downpour.
But on lap 15, he ran over the inside kerb at Zandvoort's Turn 8 and suddenly lost control of his FW45 and veered off course and into the barrier.
It was Sargeant's second crash of the weekend following his mishap in qualifying, but contrary to his off in Q3, a techncial issue had caused his demise.
"It was a tricky first 15 laps, just being too cautious, not wanting to crash after what happened yesterday," the Williams rookie explained.
"I was losing a bit too much tyre temperature in those conditions and then ultimately losing too much tyre temperature cost me a lot of time.
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"Apart from that, I was starting to get back into a rhythm as the track was drying, I touched the apex curve at Turn 8, and I lost hydraulics and power steering and that just sent me off and once I touched the damp stuff there was no recovery.
"I’m not sure why exactly that happened, it’s something we need to look into, but I’m just disappointed for everyone after the effort, and disappointed for the team, another destroyed car."
Williams confirmed the hydraulics issue on its driver's FW45 but Sargeant noted that his entry and use of the kerb at Turn 8 on lap 15 had not been any different than on previous laps.
"I used it all weekend to be honest, and it wasn't like I was hitting it crazy hard," he said.
It was a disappointing outcome for the 22-year-old driver from Fort Lauderdale, especially after his solid performance in qualifying the day before, even if the latter had ended in the barriers.
"Everyone was still super proud we made it to Q3, but it was a great weekend up to that point, but they didn’t blame me for pushing – it was Q3, we were just happy to be there for the first time this year, definitely encouragement there," he said.
"Today’s a completely different situation but at the end it’s the same outcome and that’s not a good one, so… just… not much more to add, just a tough one."
Sargeant's track record in his maiden season in F1 is blemished by several big crashes that have proven costly for Williams.
"I know those mistakes are costly," he said after his mistake on Saturday. "It's not what I'm trying to do, of course. I mean, moving forward I have to dial those out, that's for sure, it's essential. It's a tough one.
"This track is tight, narrow. There was barely one car width on a dry line, and all it takes is to be a millimetre offline and there's no saving it."
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