Sargeant’s Williams crash halts final Dutch GP practice

Zandvoort, August 24

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Final practice for the Dutch Formula One Grand Prix was halted on Saturday after Logan Sargeant's Williams crashed heavily and caught fire, with the American jumping out of the wreckage unhurt.

"I am okay," the driver reported over the radio after dipping a wheel on to the wet grass, losing control at the exit to turn three and spinning hard into the barriers, with the mangled car then left in the middle of the track.

The 23-year-old, who has yet to score a point this year and has already lost his seat for 2025, was taken to the medical centre for precautionary checks.

Marshals put out the flames; however, the damage looked significant, with qualifying scheduled for 1500 local time and the odds against the Williams mechanics getting it repaired in time.

The red flags came out after 14 minutes, with the Orange Army of Dutch fans in the grandstands waiting for Red Bull's home hero and championship leader Max Verstappen to do a lap.

Williams said Sargeant's car, which was returned to the garage while repairs were made to the barriers, had had the same upgrade package as teammate Alex Albon. Williams principal James Vowles said, "Hundreds of hours are spent on making things. The worst time is when you have just introduced something and you put it on the wall. Qualifying will be upon us pretty quickly, but the car is in a pretty bad state.”

He added, “The first step of it is that we will go through in detail what's been damaged. It looks pretty serious and that could result in a chassis change."