F1 ace Logan Sargeant's three point plan to move on from 2023 disappointments
EXCLUSIVE: F1 second-season driver Logan Sargeant exclusively spoke to the Daily Express Sport ahead of the 2024 season
Williams F1 ace Logan Sargeant says his 2024 goal is to be more "consistent", deliver results for the team and take weight off impressive lead driver Alex Albon. The 23-year-old American struggled in his rookie campaign, suffering a number of crashes - but he showed signs of promise in the closing stages of the season earning a new contract.
Sargeant managed just one championship point in his maiden campaign, one more than sacked Nyck de Vries and one less than Liam Lawson, who stepped in for five races for the injured Daniel Ricciardo at AlphaTauri. The No. 2 driver will need to perform this year with Williams looking to solidify itself in the midfield following massive strides under team principal James Vowles.
"I think the big thing for me is this year I want to be more consistent, be able to deliver on a more consistent basis," Sargeant told the Daily Express Sport on his 2024 goals. "But yeah, I learned a lot about myself, a lot about what these cars are capable of, where the limit is. But at the same time, how I can better manage myself throughout a year in all ways, shapes, forms, whatever, physically, mentally, emotionally. So there's plenty of stuff that I've worked on in the off-season. And yeah, I think I've learned what can bite in these cars and I just want to try and avoid those moments and keep it a bit more clean."
He added: "I think the target is quite simple. I don't really put a number on things. But it's simply to deliver, as I said, more consistently, get everything out of the car and fewer mistakes, better results."
Sargeant was the last driver confirmed for 2024, with this year's grid starting how it ended the last campaign. However, Sargeant says the support he was given at Williams gave him confidence that he'd be kept on for another season. "It goes back to when I joined the team at the end of 2021. I feel like I've had the support since then," he said.
"I've been with the team for a few years now and felt like we had some tough times last year, but also we're turning in the right direction and was feeling more and more comfortable towards the end of the year. And yeah, just grateful to the team to have another opportunity and want to make their decision worth it."
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One of the pillars of support has been lead driver Albon, who on his day can cause a real upset inside the top ten. The Thai driver scored 27 of Williams' 28 points in 2023, with his best finishes of 7th coming in Canada and Monza. It wouldn't come as a surprise to many if Albon didn't find himself on the shortlists of top teams in 2025 with massive reshuffles set to take place across a number of top teams, with contracts expiring, as well as Lewis Hamilton, moving to Ferrari.
Sargeant says he and Albon get along great and liking similar car set-ups helps when the latter is passing on wisdom. "I think especially from summer break of last year forward, we were speaking a lot more about not just driving, but about the car," Sargeant said.
"I think generally we're always pushing in the same direction, which is a positive as well. We like the car to be set up in a similar way. And that ultimately pushes the team forward as a whole. So that's a positive. And away from the driving, we're good friends as well. So there's a good dynamic there at the moment."
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However, sacrifices had to be made in 2023, with team boss Vowles admitting during the year that Sargeant's car was not in the same specifications as Albon's due to the team's focus on the 2024 season. Sargeant isn't keen to dwell on the past, especially if it's for the greater good. "Yeah, I think at the end of the day, there's a lot that goes on and you have to ultimately only think about what you can control, make the most of what you have," he insisted.
"And that's really the mindset you have to have. I try not to think about the negatives. So yeah, for sure, I understood the decision and just tried to do the best with what I had."
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Pre-season testing in Bahrain last week was strong for Williams, despite Sargeant's early Day 1 spin. Both Sargeant and Albon showed good pace that could set Williams up for a battle against the likes of Alpine, Haas, Stake F1, and Visa Cash App RB. The season will start in Bahrain on March 2 with a night race. "Well, we changed the car a lot," Sargeant explained.
"The car is very different to drive than last year. What that does is it makes mine and Alex's job a little bit tougher to try and get on top of it. At the same time, it's tough for the engineers because they have to figure out how to set this car up as well. So we have a lot to do in what is honestly a short amount of testing. And we've had some technical issues as well, which haven't made it super, super easy to get everything in that we want to get in. But yeah, we're making the most of what we can do right now and everything's tracking the right direction. So hopefully we can be in a good place come next week."
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Despite early struggles in his F1 career, Sargeant is among the most popular on the grid, especially on social media. The American has pages dedicated to following his race results. And his popularity has come at the right time for F1, which now has three yearly races in the US: Miami, Austin, and Las Vegas. "You really feel that energy," Sargeant concluded.
"I mean, for example, when I went to America to be able to interact with the US fans for the first time, it really does give you such a positive feel heading into the weekend. It's such a privilege, to be honest, to have that support. And yeah, just going to give everything I have to give back as much as I can this year."