Williams’ case for Logan Sargent

With the teams’ final vacancy filled for 2024, Williams’ contract extension with Logan Sargent isn’t much of a surprise. The championship’s official website tried to analyze why they chose to leave the American in the team, who earned only one point against his teammate’s 27 during the season.

After the Italian Grand Prix, Logan Sargent felt increasing pressure. By that time, Alex Albon already had 21 points, and only thanks to his efforts Williams took 7th place in the Constructors’ Championship.

The Monza circuit, with its long straights and minimal downforce requirements, should have suited the FW45 well, and Albon confirmed this with seventh place. Sargent finished 13th.

However, James Vowles, the team manager, remained calm. He supported Sargent all season and tried not to criticize him publicly, but he had a conversation with Logan. He honestly warned his driver that he had to improve if he wanted to stay in the team, and gave him time until the end of the season.

It must be admitted that Sargent handled the pressure, and although he subsequently had more than one accident and crashed cars, including in Japan, he still showed some progress. Maybe it was barely noticeable from the outside, but the team saw it via telemetry, and in the end Logan got the coveted prize point anyway, and this happened at his home track in Austin.

And although he got into the top ten, one might say, by accident, only because of Lewis Hamilton’s disqualification, he still finished eleventh, and on a difficult track in Texas, and this is really his personal merit. He also became the first American driver in three decades to score a point in Formula 1.

It seems that after this his confidence in his abilities was strengthened, and during qualifying in Las Vegas he showed a 7th result, which deserves real respect. And even though he didn’t earn any points that weekend, Williams saw that he was already close to Albon in terms of pace.

This is exactly the task that the team set him, and Sargent proved that he is capable of dealing with the pressure in Formula 1. Moreover, Williams wanted to prove that it was once not for nothing that they gambled on Logan, after they had accepted him as their team in the fall of 2021 at the racing academy.

It cannot be said that Williams did not consider other candidates for 2024 – they say that the team conducted negotiations with Felipe Drugovich, last year’s Formula 2 champion and Aston Martin’s reserve, but still made a choice in favor from Sargent.

In the summer, Williams made a bold decision and stopped modernizing the FW45, presented the last set of updates in the Canadian phase of the championship and then switched completely to preparations for 2024. This did not stop the team from gaining three places to rise in the Constructors’ Championship – last year it was in last place with 8 points.

By extending Sargent’s contract, Williams maintained continuity, and the advantage here is that Logan already knows the team well, and if he works effectively in the off-season, he should approach the start of the new championship in good form.

Everyone understands that Formula 1 is an extremely difficult business, and it is incredibly difficult for a newcomer who has moved from the youth series to immediately earn points, even if he drives a more or less fast car (think of Oscar Piastri), and that is true. difficult to classify the Williams FW45 in this category.

Many at the Grove team believe that Logan deserves another season in Formula 1, and if Williams can really take a step forward, the drivers will have a car with which they can regularly challenge for points. Of course, Sargent’s job is to prove the team didn’t make a mistake about him.