In the 2024 Australian Grand Prix, Williams Racing faced a significant challenge due to a chassis issue.
Alexander Albon, Sargeant’s teammate, crashed heavily during the first practice session, causing extensive damage to his car.
Unfortunately, the FW46 chassis of Albon couldn’t be repaired at the track, leaving Williams with only one chassis for the remainder of the weekend.
Williams got a company at the Japanese GP
Amidst the continuing fallout following the Williams chassis issues in Australia and the knock on for Japan, worthy of note that having spoken to all teams today I’ve discovered Williams are not the only outfit in the pitlane who are running without a spare chassis.
— Will Buxton (@wbuxtonofficial) April 4, 2024
The British journalist Will Buxton recently shed light on the chassis issues that Williams Racing is currently facing. Although he didn’t explicitly mention the team by name, his remarks strongly suggested concerns surrounding an upcoming event.
“Amidst the continuing fallout following the Williams chassis issues in Australia and the knock on for Japan, worthy of note that having spoken to all teams today I’ve discovered Williams are not the only outfit in the pitlane who are running without a spare chassis.”
As per the sources, Williams will not have their spare Chassis for Japanse and Chinese GP. The spare will arrive probably at Miami GP by next month.
💬 | Alex Albon on Williams facing issue with not having a spare chassis:
"It will be this weekend and China that we don't have a spare car," confirms Albon.
"What we've seen so far is the car has been performing well over the races, I think we've made a step on race-pace… pic.twitter.com/H8zXouxidQ
— Desi Racing Co. (@DesiRacingco) April 4, 2024
Why does Williams have no spare car for the Australian GP?
Williams had initially pushed their car development deadline later than most teams, even skipping a shakedown of their new car before pre-season testing in Bahrain.
As a result, by the third round of the championship, they did not have a spare chassis available.
Team principal James Vowles emphasized that they never intended to attend an event without a spare chassis. However, due to the late completion of their cars, the spare chassis completion date had to move backward.
In a difficult decision, Vowles chose to withdraw Logan Sargeant from racing for the weekend and put Albon in the sole available chassis. The midfield competition is incredibly tight, and every point matters for Williams in the championship standings.
READ MORE: Alex Albon Shares Photo of His Grandma When She Met Her “New Favourite Driver “