Anyone who stayed up at the crack of dawn to follow the action of the first free practice session saw Alexander Albon lose Williams on a bump and then crash badly.
At the time it was impossible to know how bad the damage was, but after a few hours the picture became clearer. The frame of Albon's car was so badly damaged that they could not repair it on the spot for lack of spare parts, so they had to make a tough decision to save what they could:
"Following Alex Albon's accident in the first free practice session, we can confirm that the extensive damage means we will not be able to use this chassis for the rest of the weekend. It will be returned to HQ for repair and as there is no spare frame available, it is the team's decision to give Alex the opportunity to race with the frame used by Logen Sargeant. It is with a heavy heart that we have made this decision, but in the tightest midfield battle ever, every race and every scoring opportunity counts. We can't be thankful enough to Logan for taking this on with his head held high and once again demonstrating his commitment to the team," said a statement from Willams Racing.
