In a shock decision, he was given teammate Logan Sargeant’s car as they had no spare chassis, preventing the American from competing for the rest of the weekend.
Williams have been criticised by some for not having a spare, including Eddie Jordan who described the scenario as ‘unacceptable’.
Other teams also lack spare chassis
However Williams may not be alone, with other F1 teams stating they have not brought a spare chassis to some events.
When asked if they had a spare for the Japanese GP, Alpine team boss Bruno Famin replied that they did not, but would be bringing one to the next race.
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff also displayed sympathy for Williams’ lack of spare chassis, revealing their own issues in the past.
When asked if they had a spare chassis at the Japanese GP Wolff gave an honest answer.
“Well, we have a different infrastructure and resource than Williams, so we have,” he said at a press conference in Suzuka.
“But I remember times, even at Mercedes, where it was difficult to get that third one out at the beginning of the season, so we were running that risk as well.
“And certainly in my time at Williams, I don’t think we had any spare chassis for most of the season."