Former F2 frontrunner Sargeant was drafted in this year to slot in alongside Alex Albon and found it hard to match his more experienced team-mate while making his fair share of rookie errors.
However, the American driver has shown improvement in recent races, particularly by achieving a 13th place finish in Austria and narrowly missing out on scoring points in Silverstone, which is his best performance thus far. Nevertheless, he remains the sole full-time driver who has not yet earned any points.
When questioned about his performance in Belgium this season, Sargeant responded by saying that it had been a mixture of positive and negative experiences, and he was not currently at the desired level.
In recent rounds, I have noticed significant improvement and feel that I am getting closer to my goal. The progress I have witnessed is crucial and highly encouraging.
“I believe there are certain aspects that require tidying. I believe that, as a united team, we have the ability to address these areas and that should be our primary focus as we enter the latter half of the season.”
Sargeant has faced challenges in adjusting to the Williams FW43, as it is not the most user-friendly car to drive and lacks downforce compared to its competitors.
Logan Sargeant, Williams FW45
Photo by: Michael Potts / Motorsport Images
When asked to elaborate on his adjustments to his driving style, the Florida native stated that it is the minuscule details that truly matter and have a significant impact.
“There were points in the year where I was simply holding the brake too late into the corners and slowing the minimum speed down too much. I’ve gotten on top of that.
“Just inputs in high-speed corners, causing instabilities, things like that. There are countless things. It’s all just very minor driving traits that needed to be adjusted.
I am progressively approaching the process of maximizing the car’s performance in various aspects, such as extracting its full potential during qualifying simulations, optimizing its setup for race conditions, and refining my driving technique. I am taking small incremental steps in multiple ways to achieve this goal.
Logan Sargeant, Williams W45
Photo by: Erik Junius
While fellow rookie Nyck de Vries has already come and gone after being replaced at AlphaTauri by Daniel Ricciardo, Sargeant says he is not putting too much pressure on himself to try and match Albon, who has had an extremely strong season to date.
And so far, Sargeant has received nothing but public backing from team principal James Vowles, who wasn’t in place yet when academy member Sargeant was handed the drive.
The 23-year-old has acknowledged feeling disappointed in himself whenever he failed to fully maximize the performance of his machine.
He clarified that he hasn’t excessively burdened himself. He believes it has been mentally demanding to handle numerous tasks without much time to take a break and recharge. Instead of being extremely difficult, it is more mentally exhausting.
I have clearly set high standards for myself. I strive to be a skilled driver, and there have been numerous occasions this year where I have felt disappointed in myself for not performing to the best of my abilities. Ultimately, it boils down to my personal desire to achieve my fullest potential.
“I occasionally sense that I have not quite achieved the desired outcome on a few occasions. It is a matter of improving, organizing, and performing more effectively. I believe this is the next phase, as I believe I now possess all the necessary components.”
When asked by Motorsport.com about his definition of a successful debut year, Sargeant replied that he doesn’t have a specific goal in mind. He believes success is achieved when he feels like he has given his all during a race weekend.
“We are not consistently equipped with a vehicle to accumulate points, therefore it ultimately depends on my personal satisfaction of having given my utmost effort, extracting the maximum potential, and improving the coherence of my actions.”
“If that’s where I end up, I would consider it a successful outcome for the weekend.”
Additional reporting by Matt Kew
Leave a Reply