Logan Sargeant crash: On Saturday, final practice for the Dutch Grand Prix came to an abrupt stop after Logan Sargeant’s Williams car crashed and caught fire. The American driver escaped the wreckage unharmed, quickly reporting over the radio, “I’m okay.”
The crash occurred when Logan Sargeant, struggling in wet conditions, lost control after dipping a wheel onto the wet grass at turn three. His car spun out and slammed into the barriers, ending up in the middle of the track at Zandvoort Circuit.
Marshals swiftly extinguished the flames, but the damage to the car was severe. Logan Sargeant, who has yet to score a point this season and is already confirmed to lose his seat for 2025, was taken to the medical center for precautionary checks.
The red flags came out just 14 minutes into the session, leaving fans in the grandstands—known as the “Orange Army” for their support of Dutch driver Max Verstappen—waiting anxiously for the action to resume.
When the session finally restarted, there was only one minute left on the clock. Drivers rushed out of the pits, hoping to squeeze in a timed lap on the damp track using intermediate tires.
In the chaos, Verstappen overtook a McLaren and a Mercedes in the pitlane, crossing the white line in his hurry to get back on track. For this, he was shown a black-and-white warning flag for failing to follow the race director’s instructions.
Pierre Gasly of Alpine clocked the fastest lap in what turned out to be a largely meaningless session, followed by Kevin Magnussen of Haas and Valtteri Bottas of Sauber. Meanwhile, Williams faced a massive challenge. Sargeant’s car, which was hauled back to the garage while track repairs were made, had the same upgrade package as his teammate Alex Albon’s car.
James Vowles, the principal of Williams, expressed the team’s frustration, saying, “Hundreds of hours are spent on making things. The worst time is when you’ve just introduced some new bits and then it ends up in the wall. The car is in pretty bad shape. We’ll go through in detail what’s been damaged. It looks serious and could mean a chassis change.”
With qualifying set to begin soon after, the Williams mechanics were up against the clock, facing an uphill battle to get the car ready in time.
