23 September 2023 , 06:29
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James Vowles warned his team's car development plan will be affected after under-pressure Logan Sargeant's latest major crash.
The American has been involved in several crashes in his rookie Formula 1 season so far. And he suffered another on Saturday as in the first part of qualifying, he smashed up his Williams at the final corner.
He was visibly frustrated as he climbed out of his car and ambled over to the pit lane. The crash will do nothing to relieve the pressure upon him as the only man on the grid whose place in the 2024 season is not yet secure.
Reacting to the crash, almost immediately after, team principal Vowles said the crash will affect more than just his team's hopes this weekend. "It's heart-breaking for Logan as well. He was overlaid to a millisecond on top of Alex [Albon], had wheel slip and... game over," he said.
"The disappointing element is it's a lot of work overnight. More importantly, Logan built up this weekend and started to show good pace. We just can't get it all together.
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"For a number of races Logan has been on an old aerodynamic package in a number of ways – actually, a bit of a hybrid. Simply, it's because parts are becoming more difficult to come by certainly as we get towards the end of the year.
"Under the cost cap, what you don't want to be doing is overproducing parts. We've had more attrition than expected, I think it's fair to say.
"We have enough parts to deal with this accident as it is today, but it will mean that we have to divert attention away from other items in order to produce more spare parts before we get to the end of the year. In terms of what happens overnight, though, we'll have plenty to be able to rebuild the car."
The crash means Sargeant will start the race dead last, having not set a time. F1's '107 per cent rule' means he will have to seek permission to start Sunday's Grand Prix, but approval is a mere formality for anyone who set a quick enough time in practice.
In better news for Williams, Albon was able to make it through to Q2. Not so lucky were Zhou Guanyu, Nico Hulkenberg, Lance Stroll and Valtteri Bottas, who joined Sargeant in the bottom five and would play no further part in qualifying.