Alex Albon aims to give “payback” to ‘real gentleman’ Logan Sargeant for taking over his car at the Australian GP

Alex Albon admitted that the Williams camp was far from pleasant after he took over Logan Sargeant's chassis for the Australian GP.

Alex Albon aims to give “payback” to ‘real gentleman’ Logan Sargeant for taking over his car at the Australian GP

Alex Albon [L] Logan Sargeant [R] (images via IMAGO)

Williams Racing has had a tough weekend at the Australian GP. Alex Albon‘s FP1 crash caused heavy damage to the chassis. Team Principles James Vowles made the bold call to give Albon the sole remaining chassis of Logan Sargeant for the weekend, sidelining the American driver for the weekend. The British-Thai driver has admitted that the atmosphere within the team was not pleasent.

Previously, Logan Sargeant admitted that his team’s decision was the hardest moment of his career. Alex Albon mentioned that the atmosphere and environment within Williams was far from pleasant. As Sargeant was forced to give up his car to his teammate for no fault of his own. 

The atmosphere and environment we are in is not pleasant.
Alex Albon said, as reported by Autosport
YouTube video

Albon highlighted that he had never been in such a position when he had taken over from his teammate. However, the 28-year-old claimed that Sargeant had been a true gentleman in accepting the team’s call. Alex Albon reckoned that the best payback to the American driver would be to do a great job in Sunday’s race.

FS Video
I've never been in that position taking over from your team-mate, but he [Logan Sargeant] has been a real gentlemen about it, and the best payback that I can give to the team and him, is to do a great job.
Alex Albon said in a post-qualifying interview (H&T: @junaidsamodien_/x)

The British-Thai driver will start the Australian GP in P12. Alex Albon mentioned that Williams was still waiting for a third chassis. However, the 28-year-old claimed that the increased run-off areas in the upcoming tracks would help prevent such an incident.

We are still waiting for the spare chassis, but the circuits coming up have a lot more run off.
Albon concluded

James Vowles claims he still ‘believes’ in Logan Sargeant despite giving the car to Alex Albon

Williams promoted Logan Sargeant to the F1 team in 2023. The American driver had a mixed campaign in his debut season as he failed to match Alex Albon. Nevertheless, the Grove-based squad renewed Sargeant’s contract for this season. However, many reckon that James Vowles‘ decision could be a public vote of no confident against the 23-year-old.

James Vowles
James Vowles (Via: Imago)

James Vowles made it clear that he had not changed his mind over the American driver. The Williams team boss insisted that he had resigned Logan Sargeant for the 2024 season. Subsequently, Vowles claimed that he put his full weight behind the 23-year-old and believed in him despite the recent events. Alex Albon’s superior results against Sargeant was the reason for this decision.

In the case of Logan, I haven’t changed my mind. I’ve signed him and I’ve put my full weight behind him because I believe in him.
James Vowles told F1

Certainly, Alex Albon will be looking to get a strong result for Williams in the race on Sunday. The British-Thai driver needs to live up to the team’s expectations after his FP1 crash. However, tensions might be rising within the Williams camp. As such, fans would be interested to see how things pan out at the Grove-based team in the coming days.

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