With the team not having built up a spare chassis, Albon's FP1 shunt last time out at Melbourne's Albert Park circuit meant Williams was forced to enter only one car from Saturday onwards while the damaged FW46 was flown back to the UK for initial investigation and repairs.
To maximise its chances of scoring points in the ultra-competitive midfield, Williams withdrew Sargeant from the event so it could place Albon in the American’s car.
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While the damaged monocoque has been repaired in time for this weekend’s Suzuka event, Williams does not expect to have a spare tub on-site until Miami in early May.
Sargeant will also remain in the repaired ex-Albon car this weekend, given the time constraints of refitting both chassis to accommodate another driver change.
“It's the repaired one,” said Sargeant when asked which car he will run this weekend.
“Just because the workload to switch the cars back over would just be far too much for the mechanics. But the chassis repair went better than expected.”
The repair has only added 100 grams. Team principal James Vowles says the chassis damage was to a suspension insert and there was no crack in tub, so a driver is not expected to notice a difference between the two cars.
Reflecting on the initial shunt in Melbourne for Albon, Sargeant said his attention soon turned to how tight Williams was on spare parts.
Source: Autosport