Logan Sargeant credited an “overnight” change on his Williams car that culminated with him scoring his maiden Formula 1 point at the United States Grand Prix.
Sargeant crossed the line in 12th place but was promoted two places post-race when both Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc were disqualified for excessive plank wear.
That meant the rookie achieved his first-ever top 10 finish in the top flight, becoming the first American driver to score points in F1 since Michael Andretti 30 years ago.
“It’s amazing to score my first point in F1 on home turf after the challenging weekend I’ve had,” Sargeant reflected. “I’m so proud of this team and myself for the hard work and progress we’ve been making this season.”
Sargeant had endured a challenging start to his second home round of the year, winding up last and five-tenths adrift of team-mate Alex Albon in Friday’s qualifying session.
The 22-year-old was again rooted to the bottom of the timesheets in Saturday’s Sprint Shootout, only gaining one place through a retirement in the later Sprint race.
Although set-up changes were forbidden under parc ferme regulations, Sargeant highlights that a system change enabled him to make a step forward for the main event.
“We worked hard overnight to find a direction with the car that was going to be positive, and we found that,” he revealed.
“We couldn’t change a lot as the car was under parc ferme, but we worked on the systems side using the tools on my steering wheel to help move the car in the right direction.”
“The pace was so much better today, and I was driving really well.”
Logan Sargeant (USA) Williams Racing FW45. 22.10.2023. Formula 1 World Championship, Rd 19, United States Grand Prix, Austin, Texas, USA, Race Day.
Both Williams cars already gained a quartet of places on the grid when Aston Martin and Haas elected to withdraw their cars to the pitlane to conduct set-up changes.
But Sargeant failed to capitalise at the start, ending up behind the Haas of Kevin Magnussen after an error at the first corner.
“I had a great start but was unfortunate to catch the sausage kerb in Turn 1 and went into anti-stall which cost me a couple of positions,” the Williams driver explained.
While the two Aston Martins made their way through, Sargeant navigated his way back past Magnussen and overhauled Daniel Ricciardo through the pitstop sequence.
Fernando Alonso’s late retirement would grant him an additional place before Sargeant overtook Nico Hulkenberg to claim 12th, which then became 10th hours later.
“We fought back and I gave it my all every lap,” Sargeant concluded. “We made steps in the right direction that we can build on and move forward as we head to Mexico.”
He added: “It’s an awkward track in terms of max downforce but you’re at such high altitude you’re basically running low downforce, something to get my head around, fortunately it’s a normal race weekend which is a positive for myself, I did FP1 last year, got along with the track quite well.”
Meanwhile, Albon ensured Williams amassed a double points haul for the first time since the 2021 Hungarian Grand Prix.
The Anglo-Thai racer extracted 27 laps from a single set of tyres to come home 11th on the road, despite picking up a five-second time penalty for a track limits infringement.
“I’m very happy for the team and especially Logan for scoring points today,” Albon said.
“We had our luck, but we were there to take it! My race felt a little compromised without any new Mediums, as we used them all yesterday in the Sprint.
“We also struggled with the Hards, forcing us to run our used Mediums.
“Nonetheless, to walk away with points is great for the team as we close out the remainder of the season.”
Williams three-point haul strengthened its hold on seventh position in the Constructors’ Championship. The Grove side now uphold a 10-point advantage over Alfa Romeo.
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