Albon Replacing Sargeant 'Could Be Worth Up To $10 Million' And Was 'Logical' Says Marko
F1Tuesday, 26 March 2024 at 16:30
Helmut Marko supported Williams's team principal's decision to replace Logan Sargeatn with Alex Albon during the 2024 Australian Grand Prix.
The team principal of the Williams Racing F1 team, James Vowles, made one of his biggest and toughest decisions so far during last weekend's race at Albert Park Circuit.
After his first driver, Alex Albon crashed his own car and damaged it beyond repair, Vowles decided to give Logan Sargeant's car to Alex Albon even though the American driver did nothing wrong.
This decision seemed really unfair as Albon made a mistake. Still, the team principal statistically knew that the 28-year-old had a higher chance of achieving points than his younger and less experienced teammate.
Helmut Marko supported the decision of the 44-year-old as he wrote in his column for speedweek.com following the Australian Grand Prix:
"It's incredibly hard for the last 5 teams to finish in the points. That's why I understand Williams' decision to give Albon Sargeant's car after his crash."
Formula 1 is currently in an interesting situation where the top five teams clearly outperform the bottom five. Each team has two drivers, and as only the top ten drivers in each race can receive points, the drivers from the bottom five teams don't have many opportunities to score points.
Only one of the bottom five teams had achieved a point-scoring position ahead of the season's third race. It was Haas, and that one point moved the American team into P6 in the Championship.
Williams's team principal was aware that every single point matters and assessed that he needed to put in a driver who had a higher chance of delivering the desired result.
In the end, Albon wasn't able to score points and finished in P11. However, Marko still believes it is the right decision to make. He added:
"Albon is the much stronger driver and a championship point can be worth up to $10 million. In that respect it was a logical thing."
Gaining one position in the Constructors' Championship can be equal to around $10 million at the end of the season when the prize money is distributed, and that's what the Red Bull boss referred to.
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