Logan Sargeant achieved in qualifying in Las Vegas his best career performance in F1, and he did it on home soil, the Williams driver clocking in a remarkable P7 at the end of the top-ten shootout.
The young American upped the pace in each of the session’s segments, and although he looked on the ragged edge at time, running perilously close to the walls, he remained consistent and didn’t put a foot wrong.
Overall, it was a solid session for Williams as Alex Albon’s best effort carried him to P6, just one spot ahead of his teammate.
However, both drivers will gain a position on Sunday’s grid thanks to the 10-place demotion of Carlos Sainz, which promotes Albon and Sargeant to P5 and P6.
Sargeant, who had geared up for qualifying by setting the third fastest time in FP3, was particularly satisfied to have been able to build up his pace in each segment of qualifying, and he was praised for doing so over the radio by team boss James Vowles on his in-lap.
“Today felt really good from FP3 onwards. I’m very happy to execute over three separate sessions and finally extract the potential that we’ve had,” he said.
“To do it here in Vegas is extra special which is highlighted by the fact we have a great car here. It’s not easy to deliver on that performance, so the fact we’re able to continuously do that throughout the session is awesome.”
©Williams
Williams had anticipated a strong weekend in Las Vegas, as the team felt that the qualities of its FW45 – including its blistering straight line speed – were well suited to Las Vegas’ low downforce track.
“We’ve worked hard and knew this weekend was a good opportunity and we’re off to the right start,” he added.
“Most importantly we have two cars near the front of the grid. We have a very annoying car down the straights for others, so we’ll try and use that to our advantage.
“Hopefully we can continue this level of performance and have a strong race.”
Albon echoed his teammate’s view regarding Williams’ strong execution of its qualifying session. His only concern was a brake issue that had caught him out at the end of FP3.
“We executed very well today; we’ve known this track was going to suit us but it’s always a bit scary coming in when there’s a bit of hype and pressure, so I’m really happy with how that went,” he said.
“I’ve been struggling with the brakes all weekend and after my off in FP3, I had to reset my confidence a little bit.
“I also just want to say thanks again to the team for their hard work in getting the car ready for qualifying.”
The Anglo-Thai racer reckoned that tyre graining would be a major factor in Sunday’s 50-lap race.
“Tomorrow is going to be all about the graining, with cars that suffer probably going a second and a half slower, and vulnerable to anyone overtaking,” he said.
“We did have some graining on Friday, but we’ve made some setup changes that should hopefully help mitigate this.
“I’m obviously excited for Logan as well, so to be starting P5 and P6 due to penalties, we now just need to finish it off tomorrow.”
Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter
