The problems that forced Williams to sideline Logan Sargeant at Formula 1’s Australian Grand Prix will cost it a spare chassis in Japan as well and further delay its upgrade plan.
Williams has given Sargeant’s car to Alex Albon in Melbourne after Albon crashed so heavily in practice on Friday that his own chassis could not be repaired at the track, and Williams does not have a spare in Australia.
Sargeant was stood down because Williams believes Albon is the team’s best chance of scoring points with only one car on Sunday.
Williams is in this position because of the hugely compromised winter that left it massively behind with its car build.
Team principal James Vowles had already called having no spare chassis at the third round of the season “unacceptable” but elaborated on the situation and its various consequences when addressing media including The Race’s Edd Straw further on Saturday morning in Melbourne.
He explained how Williams slipped away from its original intention of having all three chassis ready for race one in Bahrain because of the inherent inefficiencies in its processes, combined with the behind-the-scenes winter overhaul enacted by Vowles and chief technical officer Pat Fry, as previously detailed by The Race.
But the expectation was still to have the spare here in Australia - before its plan was set back again.
“In this particular case, the third chassis started to get delayed and delayed and delayed,” said Vowles.
“We were very late with these cars, very, very late.
“Even when it was intended to be coming here, at round three, it got delayed and delayed again as other items got pushed back as a result.”
MAKING THE DECISION
Once the extent of the damage was uncovered, Williams had no choice but to race only one car in Australia.
The front right corner of the chassis had a hole punctured into it, the gearbox was cracked in two, the engine mounts bent, and the power unit itself “done”. It is expected to arrive at the Williams headquarters in Grove “about Monday 2am”, which is when the repair job will start.