(Motorsports news) The American, Logan Sargeant has shown glimpses of speed throughout his maiden season in F1, but these have been overwhelmed by errors that have accumulated in recent races, including big crashes at Zandvoort, Singapore, and Suzuka following the summer break. This has fueled rumors that Sargeant could be benched for 2024 if Williams wants to avoid additional maintenance costs, and the team has been compelled to employ older-spec parts on his FW45 to lessen the impact on new bodywork manufacture.
In a video broadcast across Williams’ social media networks, Vowles claimed that he would prefer to keep Sargeant for next season, and that the team will work with its academy product to help him have a successful F1 career. Sargeant stated that he was aware of Vowles’ position previous to the video’s release, but was taken aback by his team principal’s public faith.
“It’s always nice, I mean, I talk to James every weekend from my side.” That was before anything was posted on social media. “It was just a pleasant surprise,” Sargeant explained. “I had no idea that was going to happen. But, at the end of the day, I must continue to work hard, keep my head down, and strive to be better. “Japan was my best weekend to this point, 100%, including the lap until the last corner in qualifying.”
I built it up perfectly, did all I needed to do, but I was a little too heavy on the right foot in the last corner, and that’s how quickly things can go wrong. “I think realistically now it’s just more important to have a clean weekend and not go for every last hundredth, even if that means I’m leaving a tenth or two on the table.”
Alex Albon, Sargeant’s teammate, agreed with Vowles and felt that the Sargeant deserved more credit for his performances despite the faults that have plagued him in his first F1 season. Although he was not engaged in the decision-making process, the Anglo-Thai racer felt Sargeant needed “more time and confidence” to prove his worth.
“I’m not the one to make the decision, but I know Logan pretty well.” I’m aware of his performance. “I think he doesn’t get the credit he deserves,” Albon believes. “Logan possesses a great deal of speed and talent.” I believe it has been slightly neutralized by a handful of errors on his part. “In all seriousness, I do think he’s – I mean, I’m not the one to say it, but I get on very well with him and I think he just needs a bit more time and confidence, and he’ll get up there.”
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