Sargeant unlikely to be sidelined again at Suzuka

James Vowles says he’s "confident" Williams will have a car at Suzuka for Logan Sargeant to race.

The decision to eject Sargeant from his car to give it to the other side of the garage following Alex Albon’s practice crash in Melbourne was highly controversial.

"It’s incredibly hard for the bottom five teams to finish in the points," Red Bull’s Dr Helmut Marko told Speed Week this week. "That’s why I understand Williams’ decision.

"Albon is the much stronger driver and a championship point can be worth $10 million," he said. "In that respect it was a logical thing."

The fact that Williams still has no spare chassis so deep into the new season, however, is arguably less forgivable - especially as a third monocoque will still not be ready in time for the Japanese GP.

It has even been rumoured that Williams will not even be able to repair Albon’s original chassis for Suzuka - logically sidelining Sargeant yet again.

"I’m confident we’ll be able to fix the chassis," team boss James Vowles insisted late on Wednesday, revealing that the damaged car got back to the Grove factory at 2am on Monday morning.

He said it’s now being stripped down and repaired - and the damage is extensive.

"The engine mounts were completely bent," Vowles admits. "The front right corner, where the suspension goes in, is torn apart - I can put my finger into the chassis at that point."

However, he added: "We’re in a good place for having the chassis back early enough for Suzuka. So we’ll have two cars there without too many issues."