Williams driver Logan Sargeant has reflected on his Formula 1 debut in Bahrain, praising the team for the increase in pace since the test, which placed him as the most successful rookie of the weekend.
Sargeant finished the Bahrain Grand Prix as the highest placed of the three rookie drivers in 11th, after qualifying in 16th. He was comfortably ahead of AlphaTauri’s Nyck de Vries in 14th and Oscar Piastri,who retired.
Sargeant narrowly missed out on a place in Q2, as he set the same time as McLaren’s Lando Norris. But as he set the time after Norris, he was unable to advance to the second segment.
Despite Sargeant’s notable debut performance, his Williams teammate Alex Albon finished in P10 and claimed the team’s first points since the 2022 Japanese Grand Prix.
“Yeah, I think really pleased with my first race,” Sargeant said. “I feel like everything operationally from the race start to pit stops, VSC’s everything went smoothly and I’m really happy with the pace that me and Alex had today.”
Despite Sargeant’s notable debut performance, his Williams teammate Alex Albon finished in P10 and claimed the team’s first points since the 2022 Japanese Grand Prix.
“The team’s done an amazing job all weekend just unlocking that pace. We probably didn’t expect where we are now compared to the test and that’s just a massive testament to the work the team has done and I’m super proud of everyone.
“I just looked for the gaps and tried to fill them. I didn’t ask for too much but just felt my way so. I really enjoyed it I loved every second of it, I loved the on-track battles it was super fun.”
When asked if his F1 debut felt natural he said: “I think before the formation lap it was a little extra but once I got into the race, once I got into the rhythm it all felt very natural. To be honest I don’t think they expected this much tyre deg coming into the year and it almost felt a little bit like F2 in terms of deg.”
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