Albon could take Sargeant's Williams if chassis damage can't be fixed

Williams does have the option to replace Logan Sargeant with Alex Albon for the remainder of the Australian Grand Prix weekend, if it cannot repair Albon's chassis.

With the team not having a spare on-site in Melbourne, it did not run Albon in FP2 as it evaluated the damage caused by Albon's hefty accident at Turns seven and eight in the opening session.

As Albon rode the kerb through the left-hand kink of Turn seven, the Thai-British driver had a snap of oversteer and collided with the inside wall, breaking off the right-front wheel before sustaining a secondary hit on the left-hand side.

It was this secondary impact that caused damage to the engine and gearbox, with Williams working through the second practice session to determine whether it is possible to repair the chassis on-site.

If this does not prove possible, boss James Vowles has confirmed he could consider withdrawing Sargeant from the weekend to be replaced by team leader Albon.

"It's the worst you could have ever had. We do not have a third chassis here, that's correct. So now it's just whether we can repair this one," Vowles explained, as quoted by Motorsport.com.

"We have repair kits, fundamentally of those I'm not yet sure, because it's a very serious accident and with what happened on the front [right] corner.

"One point here will make the difference between sixth and 10th potentially in the championship, simple as that."