Logan Sargeant was left furious with Ferrari during Sprint Qualifying 1 at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, after the Williams driver crashed heavily on the exit of the challenging Turn 15.
The American has shown great pace all weekend and actually made it into Q2 for the first time in his Formula 1 career Friday afternoon, with the Baku City Circuit very much suiting Williams’ FW45.
He had a big crash in the final few seconds of SQ1, though, after being distracted by both Ferrari drivers.
As Sargeant approached Turn 15 on a hot lap, Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc were both going slowly, with Sainz having cut across the run-off on the inside of the corner in a bid to get out of the American’s way.
Want to work in Formula 1? Browse the latest F1 job vacancies
This clearly distracted the rookie, who immediately told his team after the crash that “the Ferraris were in the middle of the road”.
The crash came as a huge disappointment to Sargeant, who actually made it into the second part of sprint qualifying due to his previous lap having been quick enough.
Should Williams be able to repair his car in time then he’ll be starting this afternoon’s sprint race from P15; however, his presence in the sprint will likely be in doubt.
Sargeant’s right-rear suspension was clearly destroyed, with many pundits also questioning whether the impact could’ve damaged his gearbox.
With just a few hours until the sprint, the repair job really is the last thing that the Grove-based team need, especially as they’ve been looking so strong in Baku.
After qualifying P13 on Friday, Alex Albon remarkably made it into SQ3 Saturday morning, with the Thai driver set to start the sprint race from a sensational seventh.
READ: George Russell blasts FIA over ‘crazy’ Azerbaijan GP call
Sargeant’s crash understandably resulted in a late red flag and the cancellation of the final few seconds of the session, much to Yuki Tsunoda’s frustration.
Tsunoda was just 100m away from setting a time which would’ve seen him progress into SQ2, only for the red flag to be flown before he crossed the line.
The Japanese driver will start the sprint from P18 but would’ve been a real candidate for the top 10 had he progressed into SQ2.