Logan Sargeant’s heavy crash in Saturday’s final practice at the Dutch Grand Prix has created a major headache for Williams at a crucial time for the British outfit.
The incident occurred just 14 minutes into the session when Sargeant lost control of his car after putting a wheel onto the wet grass at the exit of Zandvoort’s Turn 4, spinning into the barrier.
While the American driver emerged unscathed, his FW46 sustained significant damage, with a fire breaking out at the rear of the car that was quickly extinguished by marshals.
The timing of the crash could not have been worse for Williams, which introduced its first major upgrade of the season this weekend on both of its cars.
The new parts were expected to boost the team's performance, but the crash has left Williams grappling with a shortage of spare components.
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Williams team principal James Vowles expressed his frustration over the situation, emphasizing the limited availability of the new parts.
“There’s hundreds of hours spent on the update, it looks like it’s working, but there’s few of them in the world,” he told Sky F1.
“Really, the worst time is when you’ve just introduced it with small amounts of bits and put it into the wall at the circuit.”
Vowles feared a chassis change would be necessary to keep Sargeant in the running for the remainder of the weekend, although his participation in the afternoon’s qualifying session appeared seriously compromised.
This situation is compounded by the need to ensure they have enough spare parts available for Alexander Albon’s car, especially with the team now under parc ferme conditions.
“There’s a limited amount, so if something happens now to the other car, you need to make sure in parc ferme you have enough spares,” Vowles explained.
“That’s more what I want to evaluate now, when we’re under parc ferme conditions, can we service both cars to a sufficient standard.”
Sargeant’s mishap also comes at a particularly challenging time for the 23-year-old, who will not be remaining with Williams next year as the team has confirmed he will be replaced by Carlos Sainz Jnr.
For now, the focus is on how Williams will navigate this setback and make the most of their limited resources for the rest of the weekend.
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