Will Buxton has cast doubt on what he heard from one of the Williams drivers ahead of this weekend’s Japanese Grand Prix.
Williams plan to run both of their cars again in Suzuka after Alex Albon’s crash left them with only one in Australia.
But Buxton, speaking on the Weekend Warm-Up for F1TV, scrutinised something he heard from the team before the event.
Albon caused severe damage to his chassis when he hit the wall in the opening practice session in Melbourne.
Williams couldn’t repair it in time for qualifying or the race, and they didn’t have a spare available.
Team principal James Vowles had overhauled their way of working during the winter, and it led to delays.
With only one car at his disposal, Vowles decided to let Albon jump in Logan Sargeant’s cockpit.
Sargeant then faced the ignominy of watching on from the sidelines even though he hadn’t damaged his car.
It was a decision that split opinion, with Sky Sports F1 duo Ted Kravitz and Martin Brundle taking different stances, but it underlined Albon’s status as the team’s number one.
During their time together as teammates, the Thai driver holds a 100% record in their qualifying head-to-head, and has also scored 27 points to the American’s one.
Will Buxton skeptical about Logan Sargeant comments
After sending Albon’s chassis back to their HQ while the Australian Grand Prix weekend was still going on, Williams have managed to get it fixed.
They’ve now shipped it out to Japan, but it’s Sargeant who will put it to the test when the running gets underway on Friday.
The explanation for this is that Williams have already adjusted Sargeant’s car to his teammate’s specifications.
But Buxton thinks it would have been relatively easy to put both drivers back where they started.
He said: “Logan basically said ‘well the team have already set up my car for Alex, and it would have taken them too long to have changed it back to me and then done the other car’.
“It took them a night in Australia! So I don’t really buy that.”
Sargeant expected to leave Williams in 2024
Vowles was full of praise for Sargeant’s conduct at Albert Park, marvelling at his ‘incredible’ commitment to helping Albon from his watching berth.
However, there’s no escaping the damning picture the weekend painted of his standing within the team.
Journalist Joe Saward has since claimed that Sargeant could lose his drive midway through this season if he doesn’t improve.
Mercedes youngster Andrea Kimi Antonelli could potentially be in the car instead by the Italian Grand Prix in September.
Rebecca Clancy says ‘nobody thinks’ Sargeant deserves to keep the drive, while Samarth Kanal says Williams have little ‘confidence’ in the ‘struggling’ 23-year-old.
Peter Windsor is one of the few who has leapt to his defence, arguing that he’s done a ‘pretty good job’ in a ‘high-pressure situation’.
Sargeant will hope he can be the driver to score the team’s first points of the season and take them clear of Sauber and Alpine.
The post ‘Don’t really buy that’: Will Buxton skeptical about what he’s heard from 23-year-old driver in Japan appeared first on F1 Oversteer.