New chassis for Sargeant after qualifying crash

Logan Sargeant will start today’s Japanese Grand Prix following a heavy crash during qualifying on Saturday.

The American crashed out at the final corner on his first timed lap to draw the red flag.

Sargeant lost the back end of the Williams exiting the final chicane, chasing it across the track until he reached the grass and cannoned into the outside barrier.

The damage proved significant with Dave Robson, head of vehicle performance for Williams, confirming the rookie will start from pit lane in the team’s spare chassis.

Asked which components had to be replaced, Robson quipped, “Almost everything.”

“Essentially a spare power unit, previously used one, so no additional penalties. Spare gearbox, same thing, a previously used one.”

The impact on the crash means Sargeant will use an older specification front wing. He was already a step behind team-mate Alex Albon on that front.

With a pit lane start mandated because of the spec change, Williams will also tweak his set-up.

Sargeant has endured a tough run in recent races leaving Robson to suggest it’s masked his progress to some extent.

“I guess inevitably they catch the headlines, don’t they, and they’re obviously visible,” Robson said of Sargeant’s recent crashes.

“I think it had kind of masked his steady performance, and this weekend was actually going really well.

“It is such a difficult circuit to come to and find the lap time, and we he went about it really well on Friday, built on that yesterday, and then to lose it in the very last corner on the first lap…

“It was quite a minor mistake, it’s just at that corner, once you touch the grass, you’re in a whole heap of trouble.

“It’s a real shame,’ he added, “but I think it is fair that the crashes, since Zandvoort, have asked what other has clearly been some steady improvement.”

Any further crashes will begin to impact performance more significantly at Williams.

As the end of the season approaches, teams have little time or money to make spares, forcing them to rely on the pool they already have, which are invariable older specification parts.

The good news is the chassis Sargeant crashed can be repaired with the damage limited to the sidepod inlet – a quick fix once it’s back at Grove.

“We’ve got enough parts around us, it just becomes a bit of a logistical exercise; how many do we want to actually ship on the circuit; what do we send on to the next; what do we send back to the UK?,” Robson explained.

“I don’t think there’s too much panic. We will need to get that chassis repaired, which will consume a little bit of time at the factory, but otherwise, we’ve got enough bits around.”