Logan Sargeant feels 27-year-old F1 rival shows where Williams driver must improve

Follow us on Google Discover

Logan Sargeant believes it is ‘great’ to have Alex Albon as a teammate at Williams as he shows the American where he must improve after one year as a Formula 1 driver.

It was a rookie season of ups and downs for Sargeant in 2023 as Albon dominated the head-to-head battle at Williams. But the 22-year-old showed enough towards the end of the year to get a second season. Now, he heads into the winter break ready to return a better driver.

Sargeant is determined to use the off-season as a chance to reflect on his full year on the F1 grid. The Fort Lauderdale, Florida native feels it is not always easy to make the changes that are required during the season. So, a chance to reflect lets Sargeant see more of the picture.

Alex Albon dominated Logan Sargeant at Williams in 2023

Albon had Sargeant’s number in nearly every session that mattered in 2023. The 27-year-old won the head-to-head qualifying battle at Williams 22-0 and also the Grand Prix results fight 19-3. Albon also beat Sargeant 6-0 in their Sprint and Sprint Shootout head-to-head battles.

Altogether, the Williams drivers also produced the biggest margin between two teammates in qualifying this year. Across the 28 Sprint Shootout and normal qualifying sessions, Albon’s pace advantage over Sargeant sat at 0.534 seconds. No other driver had a 100% whitewash.

Logan Sargeant accepts he must improve in Formula 1

Williams will need Sargeant to close his gap to Albon in 2024 having further scored just one point to 27. Only Nyck de Vries, who AlphaTauri dropped after 10 rounds, scored fewer than Sargeant. AlphaTauri replaced De Vries with Daniel Ricciardo after he failed to score a point.

But Sargeant accepts that he has to improve in his second season as a Formula 1 driver with Williams in 2024. So, he will now use the winter break to study his and Albon’s data. He sees Albon as a great teammate to have given the London-born Thai presents a brilliant yardstick.

“It’s great to have my teammate, Alex Albon, as such a good reference,” Sargeant told the F1 website. “It shows me the places I need to work on.

“That’s something that isn’t always the easiest to do in-season as you’re so caught up in the mix. That’s something I can improve on when reflecting on what has been a long season.”