James Vowles wants to analyse Logan Sargeant’s season before making a verdict on his F1 future with Williams. Despite a relatively quiet transfer market in 2023, this contract situation remains unresolved.
Sargeant failed to out-qualify teammate Alex Albon in Yas Marina, meaning the American ended this year with a 0-22 record in qualifying. Although this isn’t the only metric to assess a driver, it emphasises the disparity in the Williams garage.
There have been signs of progress from the 22-year-old this year. However, they have been quite limited. Without Albon’s impressive efforts this year, the British team might have lost P7 in the constructors.
In 2023, Sargeant was one of the weakest drivers on the field. However, the question is whether Williams believes he can progress and become a top-10 driver.
When comparing the American’s rookie season against the likes of Piastri, Lawson or even Zhou, there are many who question his long-term potential.
Throughout the year, James Vowles has consistently defended Sargeant’s efforts. Despite his errors and inexperience, the team principal seemed adamant about the youngster’s place in the team.
James Vowles Williams
However, his comments after the Abu Dhabi GP painted a less positive picture:
“I’m someone that was very clear from the beginning. I want to assess this across the season, not across one race,” motorsport.com quotes him as saying.
“To make sure we make the right decision for the team and for Logan’s future as well.
“I just want to check through a full season of data one more time and look at the progress, look at the mistakes, look at the outliers.”
Evidently, Williams are looking for reasons to keep Sargeant. After all, it is logical to continue developing a young driver instead of signing another rookie and repeating the same process.
With that said, the team’s hesitance to confirm his place for 2024 suggests the 22-year-old’s performances weren’t convincing.
It remains to be seen if James Vowles will give the Williams Academy drover another opportunity to prove his abilities – both in the short and long term.
