RaceFans Round-up: Sargeant told to improve consistency

In the round-up: Logan Sargeant has been told to improve on his consistency, his team principal says

In brief

Sargeant told to improve consistency – Vowles

Williams team principal James Vowles says he has asked driver Logan Sargeant to work on becoming a more consistent driver.

The rookie is yet to score his first point of the season after 17 rounds. He spun out of the sprint race in last weekend’s Qatar Grand Prix sprint race before retiring for health reasons on Sunday.

“Logan performed well across the weekend, especially given his illness and his weakened immune system – the dehydration he was suffering from,” Vowles said on a video posted by Williams.

“He qualified close to Alex for the main grand prix and in the main grand prix itself, until the dehydration really properly kicked in, he was a matter of seconds behind him and had less track limits abuse than most of the other cars around him. So he was building on that consistency we’ve asked him to work on.

“We now go into a triple header again – three races he’s never been to before where he has to keep building on that and session by session, move forward and improve. But two are sprint races again too – he has just 60 minutes to get comfortable with what the track will be on Saturday and on Sunday. So it’ll be a real challenge, but one that he’s looking forward to.”

Grosjean completes first Lamborghini run

Advert | Become a Supporter & go ad-free

Romain Grosjean completed his first run in the Lamborghini hypercar he will race in next year’s World Endurance Championship at the Almeria circuit in Spain yesterday.

The former F1 and IndyCar driver will compete in the SC63 LMDh hypercar operated by Iron Lynx in next season’s championship when Lamborghini join the series. Grosjean completed his first laps in the car, the third and final day of a three day test.

Wickens wins TCR title

Former IndyCar racer Robert Wickens clinched the IMSA Challenge championship in the TCR touring car class with co-driver Harry Gottsacker at Road Atlanta yesterday.

Wickens, who faced live-changing injuries in a horrific IndyCar crash at Pocono in his rookie season in 2018 took the TCR class title with Gottsacker in their Hyundai, fitted with a special hand control system for throttle and braking.

The pair finished fourth in class in Friday’s first race, which was enough to seal the title. It is Wickens’ first championship in motorsport since winning the Formula Renault 3.5 crown in 2011.

Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and go ad-free

Links

Motor racing links of interest:

Hört Sergio Perez auf?: Red Bull dementiert Rücktrittsgerüchte (Auto Motor und Sport - German)

'Perez needs to finish at least second in the championship if he wants to secure his seat for 2024. After the Spanish Grand Prix, Perez fell into a vicious cycle. When he tried to compensate for the car's deficiencies with setup changes, the car became easier to drive but slower. When he attempted to adapt to the RB19's quirks, he overdrove the car and lost even more time.'

Massa's lawyers give F1 and FIA another month to respond (Reuters)

'Lawyers for Felipe Massa have given Formula 1 and the governing FIA another month to respond to threatened court action over the 2008 world championship. The extension means the deadline is now after the Brazilian Grand Prix at Sao Paulo's Interlagos circuit on November 5th.'

Organizational Exploration, Exploitation, and Performance Differential: A Simulation Model of F1 1970-2013 (Leibniz Information Centre for Economics - PDF)

'This paper develops a model of innovation and competition in Formula 1 racing where technology development, new team entry, organizational and supplier changes, and annual regulation changes place a premium on ambidexterity as a dynamic capability for firm adaptation. Simulation results show how firm level and environmental changes such as organizational changes and resource acquisition, influence team capability development and erosion and can alter the intra industry performance differential in favour of incumbents or their challengers.'

Thank you to Gilles Amon for the tip!

Advert | Become a Supporter & go ad-free

Meet the non-profit taking over Smartsheet’s place on the MCL60 (McLaren)

'For this year’s US Grand Prix in Austin, they’ll be drawing attention to Girlstart, an extraordinary non-profit empowering young girls to become the next generation of leaders in STEM. The US-based non-profit will take Smartsheet’s brand position on the MCL60 throughout the weekend.'

From guard rails and toilet seats to giant cups and gorillas: bizarre sporting trophies – in pictures (Guardian)

'If the race is sponsored by a video game company, then the trophy must be a video game character, those are the rules. Ayrton Senna was lucky to lift this Sonic the Hedgehog sculpture after winning the 1993 European Grand Prix.'

F2 racer Kush Maini to be mentored by F1 champion Mika Hakkinen (Formula Scout)

''Super excited to announce that two-time F1 world champion Mika Hakkinen will be mentoring me and guiding my career from here on out. So grateful for this amazing opportunity to learn from one of the greatest in motorsport.''

Behind the Scenes: Follow Marcus Armstrong through Indy 500 Rookie Orientation Program (IndyCar via YouTube)

'From start to finish, go behind the scenes with Marcus Armstrong as he completes the Indy 500 Rookie Orientation Program.'

We always endeavour to credit original sources. If you have a tip for a link relating to single-seater motorsport to feature in the next RaceFans round-up please send it to us via the contact form.

Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and go ad-free

Social media

Notable posts from X (formerly Twitter), TikTok and more:

Tonight, at our Hinwil HQ, we celebrate a motorsport icon and the man who started it all. ♥️

On behalf of the whole team, wishing our founder, Peter Sauber, a happy 80th birthday. pic.twitter.com/ZDepD1QVuu

— Stake F1 Team KICK Sauber (@stakef1team_ks) October 13, 2023

Putting in the work 😤 @PierreGASLY’s back in the sim ahead of the triple header 🌍 #Alpine pic.twitter.com/6HM6mHv1eB

— BWT Alpine F1 Team (@AlpineF1Team) October 13, 2023

Taking to the track with my MCL35M! 🧡 A quick shakedown in Barcelona after its rebuild, but of course a few push laps too! pic.twitter.com/3GMgYtlryx

— Zak Brown (@ZBrownCEO) October 13, 2023

What does James do on his days off? That’s it, more racing! 😎 pic.twitter.com/qluyn8wWf5

— Williams Racing (@WilliamsRacing) October 13, 2023

Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and go ad-free

Find more official F1 accounts to follow in the F1 Twitter Directory

Comment of the day

News that Spa-Francorchamps has received a one-year contract extension to remain on the F1 calendar until 2025 reminds Dex of Mercedes’ approach to a certain former driver of theirs…

Why do they treat Spa like Bottas?
Dex

Happy birthday!

Happy birthday to Pablopete80, Lyn Dromey, Russ Mckennett and Jack Nagle!

On this day in motorsport

40 years ago today Patrick Tambay took pole position for his final race in a Ferrari, the South African Grand Prix

12 comments on “Sargeant told to improve consistency – Vowles”

Dex
14th October 2023, 0:13

I’m afraid that Sargeant is consistent, that is the problem. He is obviously cracking under pressure, so crashing less would be a fine first step I guess. But would that earn him his second season? I’m not as impressed with Lawson as many here, but I’d pick him instead in a heartbeat. I still think what I’ve said after the first few races, that Sargeant is the new Stoll at best, but without a team-owning dad. Of course, Stoll wasn’t under the same kind of pressure, yet that pressure is something most drivers are facing. It can’t excuse all those mistakes… And the young American didn’t even impress enough in F2, far from it.

Esploratore (@esploratore1)
14th October 2023, 6:30

Yes, if I have to think about 3 drivers who are consistently disappointing\underperforming this season, that you go into a race and you already expected them to be demolished by their team mate, then that promptly happens and on top of that they’re almost always crashing, it’s perez, stroll and sargeant.

I also don’t think lawson is necessarily better than tsunoda, but agree he should be a step up on sargeant (since he’s the only one he has a chance of replacing).
Jere (@jerejj)
14th October 2023, 6:37

Dex – Rookies generally need time because of limited on-track testing & people shouldn’t forget Tsunoda was even more error-prone & inconsistent in his rookie season, not to mention Sargeant hasn’t been a total flop like some other drivers, so he definitely deserves a second season after which sacking would be more justified if he didn’t improve over time.

@esploratore1 – If Lawson had a realistic chance, he wouldn’t have been announced as a reserve driver on the Japanese GP qualifying day, & realistically, no one has a chance of replacing Sargeant when thinking through carefully, even Drugovich.

Jere (@jerejj)
14th October 2023, 6:32

The good thing about the upcoming three circuits is that he’s actually driven on all three in FP sessions.
As a side note, I didn’t know about James doing some actual racing or having any background in that area.

AMuS: Nothing to secure per se, as he’s been formally confirned since around the 2022 Monaco GP, & I’m sure he’ll keep P2 until the end anyway.

Good question by COTD & something that will probably end, either when another option becomes viable, or Spa & Zandvoort start alternating, which may happen.

Simon
14th October 2023, 15:38

03 Off target speculation
2x 05 = Prediction/s that prove to be unfounded
11 “Viable” klaxon
1. anon
  14th October 2023, 16:28
  
  Simon, you are getting extremely weird with your persistent stalking and the insistence on continuing to harass that poster. What is wrong with you?
  1. Simon
    15th October 2023, 18:42
    
    Nowt wrong with me… 🤷