Logan Sargeant was a world karting champion in 2015 and now in 2023 has a seat with Williams Racing on a Formula One starting grid. During Monday’s Williams Racing Season Launch, Sargeant spoke virtually to media, which included Pit Debrief, about his expectations for the coming year; his preparations at Grove – and his tip for the 2023 NFL Super Bowl.
Head of Vehicle Performance at Williams Racing, Dave Robson, had earlier told the media in attendance that Logan Sargeant is beginning to look and sound like a real Formula One driver after all the preparation he has gone through. The question was then put to Sargeant as to whether he felt the same?
“I think I’ve been doing everything I can to get into the best position I can be going into the season. I almost feel to a point where I’m a bit overprepared. Excited to get after it in Bahrain and get going really. I feel it’s been a long offseason.” Sargeant would refer again to this mindset later as he stated: “You can never be prepared enough but I feel it’s a point where we’ve done so much away from the track, now it’s time to actually get out there and start to apply some of that – that’s what I meant by that.”
Having reached the pinnacle of motorsport, Pit Debrief congratulated Logan Sargeant on this feat before then asking whether he is able to relax a bit and enjoy the experience of the first few weeks, or is he already setting himself targets and putting the pressure on?
“Thank you. At the moment I’m just super excited to even be in this position to have an opportunity to go racing in Formula One. I’m sure the pressure’s going to eventually start to mount up when you get closer to the race but at the moment it’s simply about going through the process of preparing as well as I can possibly prepare to be ready for it. And a lot of work on the sim and just trying to get on top of that to ultimately put us in the best window when we get the car on track in real life.”
Back in November last year, Sargeant demonstrated some impressive running during the post-season test in Abu Dhabi. The American was just over a tenth slower than team-mate Alex Albon for Williams Racing in terms of their fastest respective lap times. As such, it is hardly surprising to hear him speak with confidence about the challenge ahead.
“Abu Dhabi was a great opportunity for me, it went extremely well. I was really able to understand where I need to improve and that gave me a great base going into the offseason. I did take some time off but at the same time it’s been non-stop work in the gym because these cars are so physical compared to what I’m used to and it’s about getting on top of that first and foremost and then from there working hard in the sim…I feel we’re in a really good place and ready to go.” said Sargeant during Monday’s launch.
Meanwhile, with the Super Bowl less than a week away, the American rookie was then asked for who he tips to win the spectacle. “It’s a tough one you know. I want to say the Chiefs but I can’t count the Eagles out. I’m going to go with the Chiefs, I’m going to say it’s going to be 27 to 23 Chiefs.” However, due to the fact that the sporting showcase is taking place in the hours before Logan Sargeant will be putting the FW45 through its paces on track at Silverstone, the American said “Our rollout at Silverstone is bright and early on Monday morning so I don’t think I’ll be watching it unfortunately but I’ll have to watch it on a replay. I’ll have to hide Twitter and everything for a few hours.”
Twitter and social media is well known for its comments on F1 and its fanbase having a firm allegiance for drivers. 2023 will surely see Logan Sargeant become a fan favourite due to his open persona, confident manner and good humour inevitably winning him many new fans. Should the rookie racer perform as well on track as he has done in front of the cameras then there is a real possibility that F1 has a future superstar on its hands.
