Logan Sargeant feels Williams made F1 star’s job ‘a little bit tougher’ in 2024

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Logan Sargeant feels Williams have made the American’s plus teammate Alex Albon’s job ‘a little bit tougher’ with their car for the 2024 F1 season ahead of the Bahrain GP.

The lights go out to start a new season in Sakhir this Saturday with the Bahrain GP and Saudi Arabian GP not on a Sunday. F1 went 38 years without holding a Grand Prix on a Saturday up to the 2023 Las Vegas GP. Yet it has three for 2024 to accommodate the start of Ramadan.

Saturday’s Bahrain GP also marks the start of Sargeant’s second season at Williams after the 23-year-old’s challenging rookie campaign. He only secured one, fortuitous point all year last term as Albon secured 27 of the Grove squad’s 28 for P7 in the constructors’ championship.

Sargeant admits Williams still have ‘a lot to do’ before the Bahrain GP

Sargeant only earned his solitary point for his debut season at the United States GP after the stewards disqualified Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc over excessive floor wear. It moved the Fort Lauderdale, Florida native into P10, with his previous best a P11 from the British GP.

The American also matched his P11 finish at the Sao Paulo GP but finished the year 21st out of the 22 drivers to race in Formula 1 last season. But Williams team principal James Vowles saw enough potential for Sargeant to merit his second season in the pinnacle of motorsport.

Sargeant hopes the FW46 is in a ‘good place’ for F1’s season-opener

Pre-season testing in Sakhir last week did not fill Sargeant with much optimism ahead of the Bahrain GP, though. He feels Williams still have ‘a lot to do’ to get the FW46 in a competitive state for Saturday’s race. Their upgrades also largely moved the FW46 away from the FW45.

“The car is very different to drive than last year,” he told the Express. “What that does is it makes mine and Alex’s job a little bit tougher to try and get on top of it. At the same time, it’s tough for the engineers because they have to figure out how to set this car up, as well.

“So, we have a lot to do in what is honestly a short amount of testing. And we’ve had some technical issues, as well, which haven’t made it super, super easy to get everything in that we want to get in.

“But, yeah, we’re making the most of what we can do right now and everything’s tracking [in] the right direction. So, hopefully, we can be in a good place come next week.”

Williams had a difficult start to the sole F1 winter test at the home of the Bahrain GP. A fuel-pump issue forced Albon to stop on the circuit in the first morning session. While Sargeant’s first outing came to an abrupt end in the afternoon of day one due to a driveshaft problem.

Sargeant also span off the track but Williams improved on their 61 laps by completing 117 with the American on day two. Albon also completed 121 laps on the third and final day of the test. But those laps showed Williams that the rear of the car is not one of its strengths.