Logan Sargeant: The Rising Star of Williams Racing
22-0 in certifying. 27-1 in points. Logan Sargeant has officially been entirely dominated by team-mate Alex Albon in his first season in F1, after being promoted earlier than anticipated when other alternatives to replace Nicholas Latifi failed.
By only considering results, which is essentially what F1 is all about, we might assume that Williams would have rejected the talented 22-year-old from Florida. Sargeant has shown glimpses of promise but has struggled with consistency.
However, extending his stay with Williams is a realistic choice that is influenced by many factors, including the support from his predecessor Jost Capito and his successful two-partnership with Vowles.
Why are Williams sticking with Sargeant? The numbers show that Sargeant has demonstrated potential similar to Albon, who is considered to be one of the standout drivers of 2023.
Particularly, Sargeant’s seventh place in qualifying at Las Vegas shows his capability when he finds his rhythm. He also was within a tenth of Albon at the extremely challenging Lusail circuit in Qatar, during a sprint weekend.
These noteworthy performances happened amidst series of crashes that put pressure on Sargeant. Nonetheless, with a year of experience, Williams hopes that Sargeant will learn to manage the risks he takes in his second season rather than trying to keep up with his faster team-mate, Albon.
Speaking with Motorsport.com after his qualifying success in Las Vegas, Vowles said: “The worst thing you can do is go too far and overdrive the car. Now you don’t know where the limit is and you don’t know where to come back to either.”
“He’s doing an incredible job. It’s difficult to explain to the world how good a job he is doing and the progress he has made. When you come into the sport as a novice, it’s really tough to find where the limit of yourself and the car is. And it’s taken a year to get there.
“But you’re now seeing the result of that and the dividends are paying off. He’s really grown over the last few races.”
That follows the Franz Tost school of thought, he always said that a young driver needs three years to become a proper grand prix driver. Want to know more? Read More here
