Sargeant explains costly FP1 shunt in Japan

Logan Sargeant has explained his own “silly error” resulted in the crash that eliminated him from Friday practice in Japan.

The American hit the wall midway through the opening session of the weekend after dipping a tyre onto the grass as he rounded Turn 7.

The reduced grip then caused him to spin through the gravel and make contact with the barrier, ruling the Williams driver out for the remainder of the day.

Sargeant was running the repaired chassis that Alex Albon damaged in Australia last time out and Williams has confirmed that the unit did not suffer further damage in Suzuka.

Reflecting on his crash, Sargeant said: “I put the car in a place that I didn’t realise I was at.

“It was a bit of a silly error to be honest, one that I shouldn’t be making, especially in FP1.

“Fortunately, it wasn’t like the mistake last year [in Suzuka], it wasn’t an overpushing thing.

“Nevertheless I still left the team with some damage but fortunately I got away better than it could have been.”

Lack of confidence did not cause shunt

Sargeant returned to the cockpit this weekend after being forced to the sidelines in Melbourne when Williams opted to give Albon his car due to having no spare chassis available.

The 23-year-old clarified that the crash was not a result of a lack of confidence following the situation in Australia.

“It [my confidence] definitely wasn’t knocked at all,” Sargeant said.

“If anything I came into this round after a week off feeling more fresh and ready to go than ever.

“[There is] no confidence lost, I want to kick myself a little bit after today but nothing to do with that [confidence].

“It was just a visual error that I’ll move on from for [Saturday].”