“I feel like it is coming back to me.”: Logan Sargeant curates a spirited figure after a tough rookie campaign with Williams F1

Logan Sargeant reflected on his qualifying prowess against teammates like Oscar Piastri and Liam Lawson in the junior Formula series. Speaking to Sportskeeda in the press conference ahead of the 2023 United States Grand Prix in Austin, the American driver explained the struggles to have a similar qualifying edge over his teammates in F1.

In his junior Formula years, Logan Sargeant was known to beat his teammates or have a qualifying edge over them. Having beaten the likes of Piastri and Lawson, the 22 year old was known to be one of the more competitive talents on the F2 grid. Unable to replicate the same qualifying prowess in an F1 car, the Williams driver has been struggling to out-qualify his teammate Alex Albon in his rookie season.

Asked by Sportskeeda if he was surprised that he was not able to hone his qualifying edge in F1, Logan Sargeant replied:

“Yeah, it's definitely been frustrating at times, for sure. It's always been one of my best things in the past. It's been frustrating at times. But at the same time I feel like since the summer break, I've really sort of found the speed again. It's just trying to put it all together when it matters is key, and especially you only get one lap at it in quali and it's either good or not. And that's the difficulty. But I feel like it is coming back to me.”

Asked about Williams’ expectations from him in the next five races, the American said:

“Not to deliver anything special but just to be consistent and clean. And that's been the message. That's all my goal is; to just have consistent clean weekends and try to be on the limit of what the car gives me.”

Logan Sargeant admitted the frustrations of being outperformed by his teammate every weekend. However, the American driver felt that he seemed to be finding his ground again in terms of his qualifying performance after the summer break. With extreme weather conditions in Qatar, the Williams driver retired from the race after feeling unwell. Explaining his team’s expectations of him for the remaining races in 2023, he stated that the instructions to him were to improve his consistency and have cleaner weekends.

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Logan Sargeant looks forward to his first F1 race on home ground

With the second race on home ground this season, Logan Sargeant is looking forward to his maiden F1 race in Austin, Texas. The Fort Lauderdale-born driver is targeting a solid race result and potential points finish at the USGP, despite the warm weather forecasted for the weekend. After struggles with temperatures in Doha, he believes the heat in Austin won't bother him much like in Qatar.

Asked how much a points finish result on home ground meant to him, Logan Sargeant explained:

“Yeah, it would be awesome. I mean, that's the goal. We're going to do everything to put ourselves in that position, obviously, two qualifyings in two races to do well and I believe we can do so.”

On whether the warmer weather in Austin will be an issue after Qatar, he replied:

“I don't think that's possible. No, I think it'll be okay. I'm from America, I've never felt heat like I felt in Qatar. So yeah, I think it should be fun.”

About his recovery after the struggles with warm temperatures in Qatar, Logan Sargeant explained:

“I have been using the drinks bottle from Singapore onwards. To be honest, in that heat, it wasn't really helping much. It was burning hot water. The seat was boiling or blistering hot. It was just a tricky one. But yeah, it wasn't ideal.”

Yet to score his maiden F1 points, Logan Sargeant is yet to have a satisfactory result to retain his seat with Williams for the following season. With the Williams second seat for 2024 unconfirmed, there has been speculation about Red Bull reserve driver Liam Lawson and Mercedes reserve Mick Schumacher potentially eyeing the seat. Despite the 2023 season being his rookie year, the sole availability of one seat at Williams on the F1 grid for 2024 has made it an enticing prospect.