Alex Albon admits F1 rival ‘unfortunately’ holds ‘luxury’ over Williams driver

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Alex Albon admits Logan Sargeant holds one ‘luxury’ advantage on the London-born Thai after his Williams teammate revealed the big change he has made in the winter.

The Grove squad have retained the same driver line-up from last year to see that Formula 1 will start the 2024 season with an identical grid to the final round of 2023. But Sargeant had to wait until after the Abu Dhabi GP for team principal James Vowles to ratify any extension.

Sargeant broke into F1 as a rookie with Williams in 2023 but the American only raced with a one-year contract. The 23-year-old further only scored one fortuitous point compared to the 27 that Albon secured. Their results combined to give Williams P7 in the constructors’ table.

Logan Sargeant admits he ‘wasn’t physically good enough’ as an F1 rookie with Williams

As well as obliterating Sargeant in the drivers’ championship, Albon destroyed his teammate in the Williams head-to-head battle. The 27-year-old dominated the Fort Lauderdale, Florida native 19-3 for Grand Prix results, 22-0 in qualifying and 6-0 in Sprints and Sprint Shootouts.

Sargeant also scored his only point for the season with P10 at the United States GP after the stewards disqualified Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc. So, in an attempt to have a better season in 2025, the American has sought to address one of the areas he felt he lacked most.

Fitness problems after stepping up to Formula 1 from Formula 2 with Williams saw Sargeant ‘completely wear myself out’. The 2022 F2 fourth-place finisher also now admits he ‘wasn’t physically good enough’. So, he gained five kilos (0.8 stone) and feels ‘a lot healthier’ today.

Alex Albon feels Logan Sargeant has a ‘luxury’ advantage by adding weight in the winter

Albon believes Sargeant holds a ‘luxury’ advantage over him with the American able to gain weight during the winter. The London-born Thai admits doing so himself would see him risk being overweight as he stands at 1.86 metres (6 ft 1) whereas Sargeant is 1.81m (5 ft 11) tall.

“Unfortunately, Logan is about seven or eight centimetres shorter than me,” Albon outlined to RacingNews365. “So, he has the luxury to put on them four or five kilograms

“If I did add four or five kilograms, I would be four or five kilograms overweight. My operating weight is already right on the limit. So, it is a bit more difficult for me to put on muscle mass without making myself slower in the car.”

The FIA added a minimum driver weight of 80kg (12.5 stone) to F1’s rules in 2019. But their weight, which is recorded straight after every qualifying and race, includes all of their gear. This includes their helmet, gloves and their race suit as they each count to the seat weight.