Williams will again be without a back-up chassis at Formula 1’s Japanese Grand Prix as a result of Alex Albon’s practice crash on Friday.
Albon went off in the opening session in Australia and caused damage to his car that cannot be repaired on location at Albert Park.
The late build of Williams’ FW46, as the James Vowles-led team undergoes extensive behind-the-scenes changes, means it has been without a spare car across the opening rounds of the season.
Williams has taken the decision to withdraw Logan Sargeant from the remainder of the weekend and field Albon in the sole car.
Albon’s damaged chassis will be sent back to Williams’ factory, ay Grove, and is expected to arrive early on Monday, allowing for full repairs to be undertaken.
But the diversion of resources means Williams’ crew will be tasked with repairing the damaged chassis rather than continuing work in readying the spare car.
As a consequence Williams will again be without a back-up car at the following round of the season in Japan.
Explaining the damage, Vowles said: “The gearbox was cracked in two, the engine mounts were completely bent and the engine’s done fundamentally.
“The chassis on the front-ride corner, where the suspension goes in, is torn apart is the best way to describe it. I can put my finger into the chassis – which you shouldn’t be able to do, just for clarity.”
Vowles expressed confidence that Williams will have the chassis fixed for Suzuka but cautioned that “until the chassis is back in the UK and they’ve properly inspected it from not just photos that we have and NDT [Non-Destructive Testing] that we have here but properly get into it, no-one can give you 100 per cent certitude.
“What I can tell you is based on the evidence that we have so far and the work that’s completed overnight, everything looks completely feasible.
“I’ve seen chassis in worse states come back from this. 100 per cent is a difficult number to give you, and as a statistics man I wouldn’t say 100 per cent, but I would say there is a very high probability it will all be fine.”
