SARGEANT MAJORS IN F1
But the American driver has a mountain to climb with Williams
he Formula 1 season begins next week with three days of official testing in Bahrain, before the teams reconvene at the same venue for the opening grand prix of the year on 5 March. Pity the rookie, Logan Sargeant.
For the young American, just a day and a half of running in the new Williams will be his sole real-world preparation, outside of simulator work, before he’s pitched onto the grid for his maiden grand prix.
In the distant past, F1 teams spent all winter pounding the tracks and chasing the sun in South Africa and Rio de Janeiro, or in Spain and Paul Ricard in Europe. Such extravagance must seem hard to believe for drivers of Sargeant’s generation, as strict caps on everything limits off-season preparations today to the gym and the sim.
“I wouldn’t say I’m going in on the back foot,” reckons the 22-year-old, putting on
Ta brave face. “You just have to take things as they come. Having only a day and a half of track time means it is absolutely vital to make the most of it. It is what it is. I feel like I’ve prepared to the best of my ability.”
Let’s hope for his sake the new FW45 runs reliably.
SACRIFICES OF YOUTH
Sargeant is the first American in F1 since Alexander Rossi made five appearances for the now-defunct Marussia team back in 2015. Not too much is expected from the young man from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, who finished an unremarkable fourth in Formula 2 last year and now finds himself in a oncegreat team now propping up the F1 grid. But while the social media trolls will be rubbing their knuckles, it’s worth taking a moment to consider what Sargeant has sacrificed and put himself through to get this far.
“I moved to Europe when I was 12 to race on the European karting scene,” he says. “My family lived with me for the first couple of years. Then I lived at a school for a year, which was an experience but pretty cool. Then I moved to London and I’ve been there ever since. The last few years, I’ve been on my own. It was difficult at times and a bit lonely – but obviously worth it in the end.”
As recently as 2021, Sargeant tried his hand at sports car racing, thinking his dream of F1 would always be exactly that.
“I was 100% sure it was dead at that point,” he says. “I thought I was heading towards the LMP [World Endurance Championship] or Indycar route. At the time, I was content with that. In the end, it was all beneficial and helped me massively. I’m glad I did it all.”
No one is pretending that Sargeant is the next Max Verstappen. But in the context of the
❝ I moved to Europe when I was 12. It was difficult at times and a bit lonely – but worth it in the end ❞
commitment he has made since he was a young boy far from home, he has surely earned his shot.
ALBON READY TO LEAD
He joins Alex Albon at Williams this year as the Anglo-thai heads into his sophomore season at the team. The 26-year-old has developed into a natural team leader since Red Bull dropped him after a single season (2020) as team-mate to Verstappen. Albon will be a great yardstick for his rookie team-mate and will naturally take the lead when it comes to car development, as Williams seeks yet another revival.
“We’re definitely in a better position than we were at the end of last year,” says Albon. “But I don’t know how that translates to the circuit, because I don’t know how big a step everyone else is going to make. We’ve been driving on the simulator, and there’s a lot that can mislead and not correlate. You never quite know.”
MEET THE NEW BOSS
There’s another big unknown for the two Williams drivers: Jost Capito, the man who hired them both, has gone, to be replaced by James Vowles, formerly chief strategist at the Mercedes-amg team, who takes up his first team principal post this week.
“Everyone I know speaks very highly of James, Jost included,” says Albon. “He can bring a lot to the table.”
“Jost was obviously a massive supporter of mine,” adds Sargeant. “He gave me the opportunity to race in F2 and in F1, and he was a great person to work with.
“He came back to this job after he had already retired, so it was a big ask for him to do these long seasons.
“To have James coming in is a special opportunity.
He has worked with young drivers at Mercedes, so I’m hoping I can learn from him.”
Both must have a few reservations about losing Capito. As for Vowles, it’s unlikely that he will have any concerns about his inherited drivers. He faces quite a job list if he is, to repurpose a certain American phrase, make Williams great again.
“It will take time,” admits Albon. “It doesn’t happen over one year, as much as we wish it did. Cars tend to have a language, a DNA, and tend to have the same characteristics year to year. You can see the problems and think you understand them, but it’s a tricky business. I feel like we’re still trying to understand them to get on top of them. We’ll see in Bahrain.”