Logan Sargeant has said that he feels “comfortable” despite recent rumours suggesting that he could lose his Williams Formula 1 seat before the end of the season.
Sargeant has had a tough start to his sophomore F1 season and speculation has heightened that he could be replaced with Mercedes protege Andrea Kimi Antonelli.
It emerged during the Miami weekend that a dispensation request has been made to the FIA to exempt Antonelli, 17, from the minimum age rule for competing in F1.
The Italian, who has been combining his Formula 2 duties with Mercedes test outings, would not be eligible to race in F1 until August 25 but that could be accelerated.
With the dispensation request thought to be from Williams, Sargeant was asked about the growing reports that he could be made to vacate his seat in the near future.
“No, I wouldn’t say [I have distractions],” Sargeant said. “You know, I talked to James [Vowles, Team Principal] internally. I talked to my managers. I’m comfortable.
“That’s all internal talk. So I’m not, I’m not going to say anything.”
Besides the speculation, Sargeant is relishing the first of three home races this weekend in Miami and feels he has continued to make progress from previous rounds.
“I’m doing my job to the best I can. Jumping in FP1 this weekend was the most comfortable I’ve felt all year, and I feel like I was straight away on it,” he said.
“And if I look, since Australia, I feel like it’s been going, relatively well from a pace front.
“You know, Japan, getting almost everything out of it, of course, China was disappointing. But, again, here today, I feel like I did a good job.
“So I’m just looking for that last 10th, but, nonetheless, just enjoying it, being home and, keep delivering the best I can.
Vowles has challenged Sargeant to close the gap to team-mate Alex Albon and he reduced the deficit to one-tenth in qualifying, despite missing out on a place in Q2.
When asked whether this had been his best weekend of 2024 to date, Sargeant replied: If I delivered a clean lap in the sprint quali yesterday like I could have, then, yes.
“Because I should have got through to Q2 yesterday and didn’t.
“Other than that, yeah, I feel like I’ve been driving well, and, I feel like that was a good qualifying session. I’m gonna continue to move forward tomorrow.”
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