Logan Sargeant has been withdrawn from the Australian Grand Prix weekend by Williams, with team-mate Alex Albon set to take over his car as James Vowles labelled the situation "unacceptable."
Albon crashed heavily in Free Practice 1 at Turns 7 and 8, with the right-front sustaining the most damage, with the engine and gearbox also suffering major damage in a secondary hit.
Vowles defiant over Sargeant Australian GP withdrawal for Albon
Melbourne is Ferrari's 'best shot' at beating Red Bull - Leclerc
Charles Leclerc remains wary of the threat posed by Red Bull at the Australian Grand Prix - but declared it Ferrari's "best shot" of challenging the world champions.
Leclerc topped the second practice session with a 1:17.722 lap, 0.381s clear of Max Verstappen in the lead Red Bull, albeit after the defending champion missed the first 20 minutes of the session owing to a floor change following damage sustained in FP1.
Melbourne is Ferrari's 'best shot' at beating Red Bull - Leclerc
Sargeant in 'hardest moment of career' after Australian withdrawal
Logan Sargeant has described his withdrawal from the Australian Grand Prix weekend as "the hardest moment" of his career.
Williams boss James Vowles has elected to withdraw the American after Friday practice in Melbourne in favour of Alex Albon after the latter crashed in Free Practice 1, damaging his chassis beyond repair.
Sargeant in 'hardest moment of career' after Australian withdrawal
Wolff: Mercedes has 'massively backfired' with Hamilton setup
Toto Wolff has honestly declared Mercedes has "massively backfired" with experimental setup changes on Lewis Hamilton's car ahead of the Australian Grand Prix.
Hamilton endured a miserable day of practice at Melbourne's Albert Park in his W15, culminating in him finishing a lowly 18th on the timesheet at the end of the second practice session.
Wolff: Mercedes has 'massively backfired' with Hamilton setup
F1 and FIA warned over current controversies: 'We're living in 2024 not 1984'
McLaren CEO Zak Brown has reiterated the need for the FIA to deal with off-track issues with "total transparency" as focus has again shifted away from racing at the Australian Grand Prix.
FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem was cleared of wrongdoing by an investigation after whistleblower allegations suggested he had attempted to tamper with F1 results.
F1 and FIA warned over current controversies: 'We're living in 2024 not 1984'
Red Bull 'wobbles' the 'trigger' for Verstappen future rethink - Wolff
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff believes Max Verstappen needs time to consider the future direction of his F1 career following what he has described as Red Bull's recent internal "wobbles".
The apparent inner feud inside Red Bull between team principal Christian Horner, Max's father Jos and Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko has been among the many headlines to have emerged out of the team over the past few turbulent weeks.
Red Bull 'wobbles' the 'trigger' for Verstappen future rethink - Wolff
WATCH: Williams Make SHOCK Call As Leclerc Shines | F1 Update
The big story of the opening day of on-track running from the 2024 Australian Grand Prix is that Logan Sargeant has been withdrawn by Williams.
Team-mate Alex Albon crashed heavily in Free Practice 1, damaging his chassis beyond immediate repair, and with no third chassis in Melbourne, boss James Vowles was forced to select which driver would continue for the weekend - opting for Albon.
WATCH: Williams Make SHOCK Call As Leclerc Shines | F1 Update
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