‘Unless something miraculous happens, writing looks on the wall’ for Logan Sargeant
Unless Logan Sargeant recovers from his downward spiral, and very soon, Le Mans winner Richard Bradley says the writing is “almost on the wall” for the Williams rookie.
Recording six crashes in four race weekends, Sargeant is on a wretched run of form.
He crashed in qualifying for the Dutch Grand Prix as well as the race, doing the same again in Japan, while in Italy he hit Valtteri Bottas and in Singapore it was the Turn 8 barriers.
Talent isn’t Logan Sargeant’s problem, it’s confidence
His latest incidents in Japan have fans and pundits alike wondering if time is up for Sargeant, who has yet to score a single point in 15 race starts.
That is not because of a lack of talent insists Le Mans winner Bradley, it’s now a confidence issue that is hurting the rookie driver.
“He just looks completely void of all confidence now,” he said in the newest episode of the On Track GP Podcast.
“When a driver gets into that downward spiral, it’s like when you have a goalkeeper who keeps conceding silly goals or a striker who’s in a big goal drought, you find it really hard to see a way out.
“The crashes just keep on coming and as a driver to get yourself out of that mode or that spiral is really tricky.
“I feel Logan is a good driver, he proved that in Formula 2. Don’t forget Liam Lawson and Logan Sargeant were team-mates in Formula 2 last year and were very evenly matched.
“So it’s just a confidence thing, and whatever is happening in that environment is just not suiting him at the minute.”
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Logan Sargeant is ‘running out of time’ to save his F1 seat
Sargeant has six races if not less to pull himself out of the slump and score his first F1 point, Williams team boss James Vowles having said progress and points are what is needed from his driver.
If he cannot do that, there is a queue of drivers waiting to replace him that includes his former team-mate Lawson as well as 2022 Formula 2 champion and Aston Martin reserve driver Felipe Drugovich.
“He’s running out of time to fix it,” Bradley continued.
“And obviously, we’ve seen that Drugovich is in discussions with Williams as well, and Drugovich comes with some pretty hefty backing. Obviously, Liam Lawson is now on the market as people know, and is a proven quantity. And I’m sure Red Bull will be very interested to put him in a car.
“So I think that unless something miraculous happens the writing’s almost on the wall for Logan.”
Williams are standing by Logan Sargeant, for now
For now, though, Williams are standing by the Floridian with Vowles making it clear he has until the end of the season to prove himself.
“We will give Logan a chance to prove himself until the end of the season,” he told Blick. “Other drivers were given two years’ probation.”
Speaking about Sargeant’s Japanese Grand Prix DNF, the former Mercedes man says the rookie was on the same pace as his team-mate Alex Albon before crashing into Bottas.
Although Sargeant continued after his Turn 11 antics, Williams eventually made the call to retire the car with Albon into the pits a few laps later in what was a disappointing double DNF for the team.
“The accident was unfortunate,” said Vowles. “Until the crash, he was as fast as Albon. And on a track like Suzuka.”
On Track GP is a YouTube channel launched in conjunction between PlanetF1.com and DR Sports, and you can watch the full post-Japanese Grand Prix Podcast episode below.
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