Sky F1 commentator David Croft believes Logan Sargeant is in good hands at Williams and especially with team boss James Vowles, the perfect man to get the best out of the young American driver.
Sargeant's maiden campaign in Formula 1 with Williams was a challenging one, marked by a steep learning curve and a difficult adaptation to the demands of the sport's pinnacle.
The 23-year-old struggled from the outset to match the pace of his more experienced teammate Alex Albon, and also made several costly mistakes.
Sargeant nevertheless became last year the first American to score a championship point in F1 in 30 years. It’s worth noting however that he owed this milestone accomplishment to the disqualifications of Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc at the US Grand Prix.
But despite his challenging debut season, Williams’ insight into Sargeant’s performances convinced Vowles to hand the young man from Fort Lauderdale a second season among motorsport’s elite.
All year, Croft and many of his broadcasting colleagues praised Vowles for his strong leadership at Williams, a team that has entered a new era under the former Mercedes strategist’s management.
But the Sky F1 anchor also believes that Vowles’ human qualities and his understanding of driver development acquired at Mercedes will continue to massively benefit Sargeant.
“He was the perfect choice for a team principal if you wanted someone to help driver development,” Crofty said on the Sky Sports F1 podcast.
“I think if anyone can get the best out of Logan Sargeant it will be James [Vowles]. Now whether he does or not I don’t know, that’s up to Logan.
“But I think [Vowles] is a perfect man for that and it didn’t surprise me that they kept Logan on for that reason.”
While thrown a lifeline by Williams, Sargeant will need to take his performance – and his results – to the next level this season if he is to remain on grid for the long term.
At last year’s season finale in Abu Dhabi, the American revealed his biggest take-away from his rookie year as a grand Prix driver.
“I think the biggest thing for me is appreciating the level of effort that needs to go into it to be able to perform at such a level every single day,” he said.
“You can get away with on a semi-average day in junior formulas, you’re still right at the front, whereas here, that’s not the case.
“So it’s about trying to constantly be able to perform at that level, day in and day out. And I think that’s been the biggest thing.”
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