Sargeant really happy with where Williams 'has got its car'

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Logan Sargeant concluded pre-season testing in Bahrain with a lofty lap count, but especially happy with the level of performance of Williams' FW45.

Sargeant was the field's marathon man on Friday, the young F1 rookie racking up 154 laps over the course of the day, or 20 laps more than any other driver, with no physical issues to report.

The American settled at the end of the day in seventh place, satisfied with both his workload and his speed.

"I think today tops the most kilometres I’ve ever done in a day," Sargeant said after Friday's session. "I was able to physically hold up well.

"We got through so much running which is a testament to the team and the hard work they’ve put in. We moved in the right direction the whole day and it was really positive.

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"We looked at shorter runs this morning and considering where the track temp was, I was relatively happy with how the car was feeling.

"Throughout the long runs this afternoon the car was in a good window and I could drive it exactly how I wanted to.

"There are still somethings we’re chasing but I’ll leave that up to Alex tomorrow. Overall, I’m really happy with where we’ve got the car and I can’t wait to go racing next week."

Dave Robson, Williams' head of vehicle performance, praised Sargeant for a job well done on his final day of running.

"Logan drove for the whole day, which gave him an excellent work out ahead of the grand prix, said the Williams engineer.

"He was able to use a lot of new tyre sets and therefore had the opportunity to experiment with setup and tyre management.

"He did an excellent job, completed a lot of useful work and although his pre-season testing has been very short in time, he has been able to complete a lot of valuable laps.

"Alex returns to the car tomorrow and with slightly different conditions expected, we will get to see some different characteristics of FW45.

"We are looking forward to a third day of reliable running to allow us to complete our season preparation; naturally there are a lot of areas of opportunity with a new car and tomorrow is about identifying and unlocking as many of them as possible in time for next week’s grand prix."

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Phillip van Osten

Motor racing was a backdrop from the outset in Phillip van Osten's life. Born in Southern California, Phillip grew up with the sights and sounds of fast cars thanks to his father, Dick van Osten, an editor and writer for Auto Speed and Sport and Motor Trend. Phillip's passion for racing grew even more when his family moved to Europe and he became acquainted with the extraordinary world of Grand Prix racing. He was an early contributor to the monthly French F1i Magazine, often providing a historic or business perspective on Formula 1's affairs. In 2012, he co-authored along with fellow journalist Pierre Van Vliet the English-language adaptation of a limited edition book devoted to the great Belgian driver Jacky Ickx. He also authored "The American Legacy in Formula 1", a book which recounts the trials and tribulations of American drivers in Grand Prix racing. Phillip is also a commentator for Belgian broadcaster Be.TV for the US Indycar series.