Currently last in the Drivers’ Championship, Logan Sargeant is at the center of many rumours and uncertainties regarding his future in Formula 1. All that while his teammate, Alex Albon, just announced a new multi-year contract extension with Williams, tying him to the team into the new era of regulations.
Asked about how the situation makes him feel about his own future going forward, the American replied.
“I wouldn’t say we’re linked in that way at all. So, I’m just worried about continuing to improve. I think Miami was a great step in the right direction in that sense, and looking forward to trying to improve on that here and in Monaco in the near future.”
After a tough start to the season, the Miami Grand Prix two weeks ago finally looked hopeful for the 23-year-old. He managed to gain eight positions in the Sprint race and finished P10 — which, in a normal race, is a point-scoring position.
Unfortunately, in Sunday’s race, Sargeant suffered from a battle with Kevin Magnussen that turned into what can be seen as a needless incident. He had been showing strong race pace in his first home event of the season.
On the team radio directly after the crash that caused his DNF, the Williams driver seemed quite shocked by the whole situation.
“Yeah, it was definitely a bit of a surprise, a terrible angle to hit as well. So, being one of my not-as-big crashes felt like one of the bigger hits. Yeah, it was not great in the moment, but all good,” he commented during media day ahead of the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix.
However, all in all, Miami did click quite well with Sargeant, who admitted he immediately felt “very comfortable” from the first practice session with the car and its balance.
“I’d say the most comfortable I felt in the car from the off in any race weekend so far,” he continued. “It just went smooth. We had a car that was balanced quite nicely, particularly for a qualifying run.
“It wasn’t perfect in the race, but for Quali we had it in a good window, and we were just able to tick the laps off one by one.”
Surrounding the Miami race weekend, there was also a lot of talk about Kimi Antonelli’s future in Formula 1, the Mercedes junior driver being mentioned not only as a possibility for Mercedes seat, but also as a replacement for Sergeant in Williams. There were even claims of it being the American’s last race, which turned out to be false.
Sargeant didn’t let these rumours get into his head and put more pressure on him: “I think at the end of the day, you have to worry about yourself. As you said, it’s all rumours. I know more what’s going on behind the scenes.”
And what exactly does he know is happening behind the scenes, what was he told?
“Just that I’m comfortable for now, and I’m going to do my best to keep improving.
“At the moment, I’m just looking at the near races, the near three or four rounds. Take it from there. And if there is a problem, I’m sure I’ll find out about it first.”
Before us is the race weekend in Imola, another chance for Sargeant to continue improving and show he really deserves that seat. Calling this race “a tricky one”, he still hopes it goes well. Though compared to his teammate, the American comes into it with a certain disadvantage in the form of a missing upgrade.
Williams has had a lot of car issues this year, from missing spare chassis to having an overweight package.
And they are prioritising Albon right now as he has been the faster driver. In Australia when he crashed in FP1, the team decided to give him Sargeant’s car and it left the 23-year-old sitting on the sidelines through Saturday and Sunday.
This weekend, Albon will receive a new update as Sargeant will stay on the Miami package.
“When I look at here, he [Albon] has an upgrade that I don’t have. So, it’s obviously tough to keep making steps forward without those things,” the American shared his thoughts on the matter.
“But, nonetheless, I’ll just do my best to keep delivering, get the most out of the package and hopefully that’s close, if not better.”
