Sargent: The team prepared me well for my debut

Williams driver Logan Sargent shared his impressions of the first leg of the season in Bahrain in his column on the championship’s official website.

I loved every second of my first race weekend in Formula 1. If I had heard in advance how the weekend would go, I would have agreed immediately. The race went smoothly, there were no problems during the pit stops and during the virtual safety car. I finished twelfth, which gives me a good basis for further work.

I’m still worried about missing the second part of qualifying – I feel like I missed the opportunity. I set the same time as Lando Norris, but because I was behind him on my lap, I fell behind on the scoresheet and was out.

I feel like I didn’t use the right approach in qualifying. Our car is good enough to enter the second part. I didn’t know it at the time and attacked a bit more aggressively than I should have. I overdid it, especially in the first round. As a result, I had no reference points on the second lap when I needed them. I have to change my mental approach. At least now I have something to think about for the next races.

All in all, the weekend went as well for me as we hoped. The team also performed better than expected. Before the start of the stage we thought we had the slowest car, but Alex scored one point and we were both quick in qualifying. This gave the team the motivation that we have a good basis for further work. Hope we continue to make progress.

We decided to pass the time between testing and the first race in Bahrain. Excellent weather contributes to suitable conditions for training. We were lucky that our hotel had its own beach, so together with my coach Ben Jacobs and part of the advertising department, we went to the beach to play volleyball. I can’t say I’m strong at this game, but it’s been great spending time with people I have to work with a lot this year.

During the preparation for the season I have never had so much excitement, but we had a lot to do before the first race. At one point I even wanted to exclaim, “I just want to ride!” I had a great experience, spent a lot of time on base, trained with Ben, spent hours on the simulator, worked with the press and partners.

The team has prepared me very well for my debut. Now I feel comfortable, I feel like part of the family, which helped take the pressure off.

I had no special expectations – neither from myself nor from the car. I tried to fly as fast as possible and to learn constantly. Thanks to this approach, I was relaxed during my first weekend in Formula 1.

It was a pleasure to meet the new Team Leader, James Vowles, who had just joined a few weeks ago. He brought new energy to the team. I only met him during the tests. He helped me a lot and gave me a lot of advice during the first weekend. I think he fits perfectly into the team. I hope we continue to make progress together.

After returning from Bahrain I was happy to sleep in my own bed for the first time in a long time. I trained every day this week. Together with Alex we worked on the simulator in preparation for the next Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. He worked first and on Thursday it was my turn. Mom has arrived so I’m happy to spend time with her until Tuesday when I have to fly to Jeddah.

After a great weekend in Bahrain, I can’t wait to get behind the wheel again. Thanks for reading my first column. I will contact you soon!