Source: REUTERS/MARK PETERSON
[Saba Sports News] The recent incident in the
2024 F1 Australian Grand Prix, where the Williams team had to use Logan
Sargeant’s chassis for Alexander Albon due to a collision, is not the first
time the team has been involved in such amateurish operations. Historical data
reveals a similar occurrence in the 2019 Russian Grand Prix. During that race,
George Russell crashed and retired after just one lap. The team then instructed
Robert Kubica, who was running in 16th place at the time, to also stop racing.
The reason behind this decision was that Russell had already damaged a set of
front wings in the previous Singapore Grand Prix, and the team was concerned
about having enough spare parts for the upcoming Japanese Grand Prix two weeks
later. This outrageous decision angered one of the team’s sponsors, Polish
Petroleum, which was brought to the team by Kubica. The sponsor released an
official statement demanding an explanation from the team regarding Kubica’s
withdrawal from the race. It is uncommon for sponsors to publicly criticize
their teams, as such matters are typically resolved privately. Following the
2019 season, Kubica transferred to the Alfa Romeo Racing Team, and Polish
Petroleum ended its sponsorship. Additionally, ROKiT, which had previously
announced a multi-year title agreement with Williams, terminated its contract
prematurely. This situation left the Williams team in an awkward position, as
the new car had already been painted with the ROKiT logo during pre-season
testing, only to be forced to change it later on.