Logan Sargeant is well aware that the pressure is always on in Formula 1, but feels a positive trend for him will ward off the threats of Mick Schumacher and Frederik Vesti to his Williams seat.
Despite being only just over halfway into his rookie Formula 1 season, for months now questions have been swirling over Sargeant’s future with Williams beyond F1 2023.
Mercedes reserve Schumacher has been strongly linked with replacing the American driver for next season, while ahead of the Dutch Grand Prix, another Mercedes-affiliated driver was flagged up for Sargeant to contend with.
Additional reporting by Sam Cooper
Logan Sargeant says pressure part of the game
Mercedes potentially have their next junior racer ready for an F1 breakthrough, with Vesti challenging Sauber junior Theo Pourchaire for the 2023 Formula 2 title.
If Vesti emerges victorious, then F2 rules do not permit him to compete in the category again, so when speaking to media, including PlanetF1.com, ahead of the Dutch Grand Prix, Sargeant was asked how he copes with the pressure of Schumacher and Vesti both being contenders for his Williams seat?
“I think it’s F1, the pressure is always there,” Sargeant replied.
“It doesn’t matter what position you’re in, what team you’re in, it’s a performance-driven sport. I think we all understand that.
“So it’s going to ultimately come down to that, it’s going to come down to how I perform, how I improve. We’re all aware of that and understand that going into it.
“I think just from my side worry about improving, show a good step from the first half of the season going into the second.”
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10 rounds of the F1 2023 campaign remain for Sargeant to prove that he can trigger this step up in performance, having struggled against his impressive team-mate Alex Albon so far. He is yet to outqualify the Anglo-Thai driver or score a point.
But, if Sargeant delivers on his aim, he is confident that will shut the door on both Schumacher and Vesti.
“Just work on improving myself and as long as I do that, all should be good,” Sargeant declared.
Albon has scored all 11 of Williams’ points so far in F1 2023, placing the team P7 in the current Constructors’ Championship standings.
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