Logan Sargeant CRASHES out of P1 in Japan in another nightmare for Williams and red flags the session… as team principal James Vowles confirms there is ‘significant damage’ to his car
- Logan Sargeant crashed from P1 in Japan into the fast Dunlop corner
- Team boss James Vowles confirmed ‘significant damage’ to Sargeant’s car
- It marks a repeat of Alex Albon’s disaster in Australia when he crashed in P1 there
Logan Sargeant crashed during the first practice session in Japan, causing a temporary red flag.
The American stretched and crashed into the wall at the fast Dunlop corner, leaving his car unusable for the remainder of the session.
It comes after teammate Alex Albon made the same mistake in Australia, leaving Williams with just one car for the GP.
In that scenario, Vowles opted to let Albon race in Sargeant’s car.
Sargeant was driving the same chassis that Albon crashed in Australia when he lost control in Japan this morning. He said over the team radio that everything was ‘okay’.
“The damage is quite significant,” team boss James Vowles confirmed. ‘The chassis is fortunately in order, but I would say almost everything else is not.
Logan Sargeant crashed out of P1 in Japan after losing control at the fast Dunlop corner
‘Suspension all around, gearbox broken. Severe damage.
‘It will be difficult (to get his car ready for P2). We will of course do our utmost to get the car back on the market, but the damage is extensive so it will take some time.
He said he spoke to his sergeant. “At the top of the hill he had trouble seeing where his position was on the track.
“It seems fundamentally like he didn’t quite realize where he was and where the grass was on the outside.
“I’ve been talking to him all week, the last few weeks even, because this is the most important thing where you have to keep a driver very close to you. You’ve given them a very difficult situation to deal with.
“But he was honestly in a really good frame of mind this week, when I called him last night around 9-10pm, a very strong frame of mind, I just wanted to get back in the car and go.
Williams team boss James Vowles confirmed there was ‘significant damage’ to the car
“What you saw here was not a driver making a mistake, because I think they went to the limit. It’s a very different kind of mistake and a frustrating one because the car wasn’t at the limits of what the car could do. There was a lot more turning potential.
“He just didn’t know where the car was on the track compared to where he expected it to be.”
Max Verstappen finished with the fastest time in P1, 1:30.056, while his Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez recorded +0.181s.