Since last year, the Williams team has been working hard to reconnect with the top, and according to team boss James Vowles, Logan Sargeant will also join in in no time. The American driver was still regularly behind the times in 2023, but Vowles hopes to see improvement this season.
Vowles has only had one full season as Williams team boss, but the Brit has already left his mark on the historic team. Under his leadership, the British racing team saw light at the end of the tunnel again, and is currently working hard to reconnect with the top teams. Everyone on the team can keep up with that pace without any problems, except Sargeant. Yet Vowles emphasizes that he still wants to give him the necessary confidence this year.
Sargeant is given time, but it shouldn’t take too long
However, the British team boss indicated that he does not expect any serious improvement from the young American in the first phase of the season. ‘It will be important for him to achieve good results,’ Vowles emphasized to RaceFans, ‘but the only thing is that I don’t think that improvement will come about in the first half of the season. We just need to see real progress from him as the season progresses.”
According to Vowles, it has a negative impact on a driver if unrealistic pressure is placed on their shoulders from day one. ‘The word ‘early’ implies that there is a risk that consequences will follow if he does not perform as expected after the first races. That’s just not the case.’ Things did not go smoothly during the first two races of the season: thanks to a problem, he finished last in Bahrain, although he finished fourteenth in Saudi Arabia.
However, Vowles expects the American to increase the pace a little further in the coming race weekends. ‘In Logan’s case, we know that last year he was mainly concerned with further building on his experience. He is no longer a rookie this season, but someone who has a year of experience under his belt.’ According to the team boss, the consistency and quality of his performances will be decisive, rather than the results and numbers on paper. ‘He must continue to build without making mistakes and improve consistently.’
