Williams Racing driver Logan Sargeant issued an apology to Alpha Tauri’s Nyck de Vries as the American caused a crash between the pair in the recent Australian GP. The feature race at Albert Park saw a chaotic end which marked two-time defending champion Max Verstappen’s first victory down under.
After a seemingly less chaotic start, the race saw a late red flag as Haas driver Kevin Magnussen lost a wheel and left debris across the track. Hence the remaining drivers were asked to opt for a standing start for the final two laps. Here, true carnage ensued as Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz tagged the right rear of Fernando Alonso coming out of Turn 1.
Then another massive crash took place as Alpine’s Pierre Gasly, who was also fending away Sainz, hit the barrier and further collided with his teammate Esteban Ocon. Behind these collisions, Logan Sargeant rammed into the back of Nyck de Vries’ car leaving the two stranded in the gravel.
Addressing this incident, the Williams rookie expressed that the tyre and brake temperature wasn’t right. Hence when he hit the pedal, the fronts locked up, leading to the crash. While talking to F1 TV, he said, “The last restart was pretty weird. I felt like I braked where I did on the previous two starts, but it just seemed like nothing was up to temperature, the brakes, the tyres.
“I hit the pedal and it was immediate, both fronts locked, and there was nothing I could do from there. Sorry to Nyck, I didn’t want to end the day like that – it was a tough enough day as it was,” he further continued.
Nyck de Vries also reacted to Logan Sargeant’s comments and forgave him for his mistake. He said, "Can happen. Anyone can make a mistake and a misjudgement. It's a racing incident. We'll move on and hope for a better race next time."
