Logan Sargeant admits Williams driver ‘wasn’t good enough’ at 1 thing as F1 rookie

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Logan Sargeant admits the American’s fitness was not ‘good enough’ in his rookie F1 season but the Williams driver has ‘done everything’ he can to improve before 2024.

The 23-year-old will return for a second season on the Formula 1 grid this year after showing Williams enough potential. Sargeant secured another year for the Grove squad following the final round of 2023. And the Fort Lauderdale, Florida native feels in the shape of his life now.

Making the step up from Formula 2 to Formula 1 took its toll on Sargeant as he struggled to manage his fitness. But the Williams Driver Academy graduate believes the challenges of his rookie campaign will now stand him in good stead as it proved where he needed to improve.

Alex Albon dominated Logan Sargeant as Williams F1 teammates

Sargeant only scored one point in 2023 to end the season 21st in the drivers’ championship. Just Nyck de Vries finished below the American having failed to score a point over 10 rounds before Red Bull kicked him out of AlphaTauri. Alex Albon recorded 27 of Williams’ 28 points.

Albon further beat Sargeant 22-0 in their Grand Prix qualifying head-to-head battle last year. He even dominated the London-born Thai’s teammate 19-3 in races, 6-0 in Sprint Shootouts and 6-0 in Sprint results. Sargeant only out-finished him if Albon failed to finish a Grand Prix.

Logan Sargeant admits fitness issues affected his results as a rookie

Sargeant believes his fitness-related problems as a rookie Formula 1 driver also affected his results after joining Albon at Williams. The 2022 F2 fourth-place finisher had a mostly clean campaign. But he crashed out of qualifying during his debut Q3 appearance at the Dutch GP.

“I have learned a lot, including that I have to manage myself better,” Sargeant admitted, via quotes from Formule 1. “I was completely wearing myself out last year – which, ultimately, affected my performance on the track.”

The Florida native added: “I wasn’t physically good enough last year. I have done everything I can to improve that. I have gained five kilos (0.8 stone) and feel a lot healthier. I’m in the best shape of my life!”

Sargeant would also crash out of the Dutch GP due to a hydraulics failure. He further retired at the Japanese GP – where he also crashed out of qualifying – owing to the damage from a collision with Valtteri Bottas. He also spun out of the Qatar GP Sprint on only the second lap.