Logan Sargeant is one of three F1 drivers not to score points in the 2023 season. The American rookie’s best race result came back in July at Silverstone, where he finished one place off an F1 world championship point and a top-ten finish.
The other pointless drivers are Nyck de Vries, who was brutally sacked by AlphaTauri before the Hungarian Grand Prix in his rookie season, and Daniel Ricciardo. The Australian replaced De Vries at Red Bull’s sister team after being brought back to the reigning constructors’ champions as their third driver.
AlphaTauri’s trigger-happy approach to sacking rookie De Vries has raised questions over Sargeant’s future in F1. But as far as Sargeant’s Williams teammate Alex Albon is concerned, the Grove-based F1 team should stick and not twist on their investment in the driver.
Albon says F1’s new generation of cars are “stiff” and hard to find the right “sweet spot”. Speaking exclusively to Daily Express Sport US, Albon said ahead of Suzuka: “For sure [Williams should stick with Sargeant]. I get on very well with Logan, every session he has raw speed.
“I know what it’s like to be a rookie. I think these cars as well, are harder than ever to get right because they’re so stiff nowadays. There’s such a small sweet spot with them and the tires on top as well, it does take quite a lot of time to get used to. F1 cars three or four years ago were a lot easier to drive than they are now. It’ll take time.”
Williams team principal James Vowles appears to be keen to follow Albon’s advice on Sargeant. Speaking to Mirror Sport last month, Vowles insisted there are no active conversations with other F1 drivers to replace the rookie.
“My plan A is investing in Logan and making sure we get the absolute most out of him,” Vowles said. “We keep forgetting that these guys and girls are in their young 20s. That’s it. They’re composed, educated individuals who know they are going to have to deliver.”
Vowles added: “What he needs now is an environment where he’s able to take all that learning and use it to good effect, not worry about issues or mistakes but learning to build on them week in, week out. And that’s the environment we’re creating around him at the moment. It will take time. This is by far the hardest year for rookies by a long way.”
