Logan Sargeant might not have scored any points on his debut with Williams at the 2023 Bahrain Grand Prix, but he loved it, and definitely impressed onlookers.
Making his Formula 1 debut with a backmarker team like Williams was always going to be a challenge for a rookie like Logan Sargeant, but the Williams car was not as bad as expected, and the American delivered a quietly impressive race weekend in Bahrain.
Sargeant lost out on a Q2 position in qualifying by bad luck, as he clocked the same time as McLaren’s Lando Norris, but doing that after the Briton, he was classified as 16th fastest, two tenths slower than teammate Alex Albon.
On race day, Sargeant drove to an eventual 12th place, two positions behind the experienced Albon who is on his second season with Williams.
He was ultimately the best of the rookies on the day with Oscar Piastri retiring in the McLaren, while Nyck de Vries was a disappointing 14th.
Sargeant did not make a single mistake
“I absolutely loved every second of my debut race,” said in Williams’ press release after the race. “The first time going off the line was special.
“I’m proud of the team, I think we outperformed everything we expected coming from testing,” he added. “Congratulations to Alex and everyone at Williams Racing for scoring the first point of the season.
“From myself, everything went smoothly from race start to pit-stops to Virtual Safety Car. Hopefully, we can use this as a good base and continue to make progress throughout the year,” Sargeant concluded.
Dave Robson, Head of Vehicle Performance at Williams commented on Sargeant’s maiden F1 race with Williams; he said: “Logan enjoyed a fantastic opening race, which has taught him a huge amount about racing in Formula One.
“He didn’t make a single mistake, was measured in attack and good with his tyres. He and his team have worked very hard to get to this position and they took their opportunity very well,” Robson explained.
One down, 22 more to come ?#WeAreWilliams @LoganSargeant pic.twitter.com/FGjdT2A3y1
— Williams Racing (@WilliamsRacing) March 6, 2023