Not just Charles Leclerc. Alongside the Monegasque from Ferrari, there will also be another driver who will have to start from the pit lane, namely Logan Sargeant. Indeed, the FIA has officially communicated not only which elements have been replaced on the Monegasque’s car (rear axle and other elements to have a spare unit for the rest of the championship), but also which interventions have been made on the Williams.
The British team has in fact decided to modify some parameters of the set-up at the suspension level, an intervention which in any case requires starting from the pit lane given that it took place under the Parc Fermé regime, where interventions on the single-seater are limited.
In addition, Williams also intervened on the brake cooling outlets, all with the approval of the FIA technical delegate who supervised the work.
“Changes have also been made to the suspension set-up of the number 16 and 02 cars, as well as changes to the brake cooling of the number 02 car (all with the approval of the FIA Technical Delegate following a written request from the teams concerned). Therefore cars number 16 and 02 will have to start from the pit lane according to Article 40.9 of the 2023 Formula 1 Sporting Regulations,” reads the note released by the stewards.
The crash of Logan Sargeant, Williams FW45 during FP3
Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images
The American had finished qualifying in last position, about six tenths behind his teammate, Alex Albon, whose floor was however damaged due to an excursion in the gravel. Sargeant arrived in qualifying unable to run on Saturday morning, having made contact with the barriers in the final corner on the only lap completed in the third practice session.
“There was a lot of damage. I think the guys did an outstanding job, because at one point it was difficult to tell whether or not we were going out to take part in qualifying. Obviously the red flag helped but they replaced a lot of parts on the car,” explained Dave Robson.
“Logan had a difficult Q1 session after the repairs. The final outing lap was difficult for him as he had to deal with traffic while preparing the tires and was unable to put together a representative lap. It could rain again tomorrow afternoon and so we’ll try to take advantage of it.”
Read also:
