Dutch FP3: Sargeant Crash Halts F1 Action

Major crash disrupts FP3 in the Netherlands, cutting short valuable track time for drivers.

Once again under rainy conditions, Zandvoort welcomed drivers, teams, fans, journalists, and F1 staff this Saturday morning, with the weather expected to remain challenging until the qualifiers, scheduled for 15:00 this afternoon.

Drivers were initially hesitant to hit the track, but Haas F1’s drivers were the first to brave the conditions, followed by Valtteri Bottas. Equipped with wet tyres, they quickly returned to switch to intermediates.

However, these proved to be insufficiently effective, leading to several off-track excursions. Having already skidded off yesterday, Nico Hülkenberg went straight ahead and broke his evolved front wing. He managed to make it back to his pit.

Kevin Magnussen also missed a braking point, while Oscar Piastri clocked a lap at 1’24 before improving to 1’21″8. The drivers tentatively began to push harder, and Fernando Alonso did better with a time of 1’21″461.

The session was then disrupted by a red flag following Logan Sargeant’s massive crash. Exiting turn 3, the Williams driver put two wheels on the grass and lost control of his car.

He crossed the track and hit the wall, initially with the nose, which spun his car around and exposed the rear of the single-seater for a massive impact against the safety barrier. The driver was unharmed but had to quickly extricate himself as the FW46 began to catch fire.

He was required to visit the medical center, but the remainder of his weekend now appears in jeopardy given the extensive damage to his car. The session was significantly delayed as the safety rail needed to be repaired, and a section of it had to be replaced.

James Vowles, the director of Williams, explained that the team would work on repairing the American’s car. Nonetheless, there is now the question of how the weekend will be managed if this is the case, particularly regarding the availability of parts.

“There’s never a good time. Hundreds of hours are invested in making the products,” laments the Briton. “The worst time is when you’ve just introduced a few elements and you hit the wall. The issue is that this happened during EL3. Qualification is looming, but the car is in a dire state.”

Williams has enough parts to rebuild the car, but Vowles insists that spare parts should also be available for Alex Albon if needed: “Yes, there are spares. But the quantity is limited, so if something happens to the other car, you need to ensure you have spares.”

“That’s what I want to ascertain now. Can we maintain both cars? The first step will be to thoroughly inspect what has been damaged. It looks quite serious and might necessitate a chassis change.”

The session was restarted with just two minutes remaining, allowing drivers to complete a lap and a practice start. Kevin Magnussen improved, as did Pierre Gasly who recorded a better yet anecdotal time of 1’20″311, with Lando Norris placing fourth, just behind Valtteri Bottas.

A hierarchy that is anything but representative, at the end of a truncated session, with an accident that cost drivers and teams nearly an hour of preparation for the qualifiers.

Max Verstappen received a black and white flag for crossing the white line at the pit exit twice, notably overtaking a McLaren at the end of the ‘slow lane’.

The upcoming qualification promises to be eventful and is not to be missed, as the data are very incomplete for the teams when preparing for fast laps, and surprises could well occur again.

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Williams F1 Scrambles After Sargeant’s Major Crash Williams F1 Scrambles After Sargeant’s Major Crash. F1 2024 Williams F1 Scrambles After Sargeant’s Major Crash