Williams driver Logan Sargeant was thrilled to score his first point as a Formula 1 driver after two of his rivals were disqualified from the United States Grand Prix.
Sargeant took the chequered flag in 12th place but gained two positions after Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc were disqualified for technical infringements.“It’s amazing to score my first point in F1 on home turf after the challenging weekend I’ve had,” said Sargeant. “I’m so proud of this team and myself for the hard work and progress we’ve been making this season.”
His second home event of the year got off to an unpromising start as he qualified last for today’s grand prix, over half a second slower than team mate Alexander Albon. He was promoted to 16th as two rival teams elected to start both their drivers from the pit lane.
One of those drivers, Kevin Magnussen, got ahead of Sargeant by the end of lap one when he ran wide at the first corner. “I had a great start but was unfortunate to catch the sausage kerb in turn one and went into anti-stall which cost me a couple of positions,” Sargeant explained.
However he was much happier with the balance of his car than he had been in the sprint race, where he finished 19th. “We worked hard overnight to find a direction with the car that was going to be positive, and we found that,” he said. “We couldn’t change a lot as the car was under parc ferme, but we worked on the systems side using the tools on my steering wheel to help move the car in the right direction.”
“The pace was so much better today, and I was driving really well,” he added.
Following his setback at the start, and losing another place to Fernando Alonso, Sargeant got ahead of Magnussen and Ricciardo by pitting earlier than them. He passed Nico Hulkenberg with five laps to go, taking the 12th place which later became the final points position.
“We fought back and I gave it my all every lap,” he said. “We made steps in the right direction that we can build on and move forward as we head to Mexico.”
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2023 United States Grand Prix
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- United States Grand Prix result unchanged as FIA rejects Haas’ call for review
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- Mercedes’ Brazilian GP set-up was “conservative” after US GP disqualification
pcxmac (@pcxmac)
23rd October 2023, 2:39
Good for Logan. At least one good thing happened today.
EffWunFan (@cairnsfella)
23rd October 2023, 3:19
@pcxmac whilst I am happy for him too, and I accept that he did finish ahead of some people, I also feel a little sad for him that his first points have come this way.
dot_com (@dot_com)
23rd October 2023, 3:57
I think to be fair he had a really good race. Lots of passes (mostly off camera) and had a really good final stint. Even if he hadn’t scored points, I think today would have given his confidence a good boost.
BasCB (@bascb)
23rd October 2023, 7:36
I agree there, he really raced really well, made some clean moves on track and kept pace with Albon nicely, so it feels rewarding that it earns him his first point too.
Bullfrog (@bullfrog)
23rd October 2023, 10:33
He’s in good company. Another driver who scored his first point in a Williams thanks to disqualifications ahead was Jenson Button. Worked out OK for him!
Dex
23rd October 2023, 11:20
This is the only way he could score a point, to be honest; but he did have a decent race this time (relative to his team mate). But I won’t be praising someone for being slower than a team mate, just less than usual.
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
23rd October 2023, 3:53
The only way he was ever going to score points.
Imre (@f1mre)
23rd October 2023, 6:30
Good performance from him regardless of point scored.
Keith Campbell (@keithedin)
23rd October 2023, 8:31
And all if took was retirements for Ocon, Piastri and Alonso, 2 DSQs, and 3 other cars starting from the pitlane.
Ben Rowe (@thegianthogweed)
23rd October 2023, 8:50
well, Stroll starting from the pitlane didn’t help saegeant as he beat him. He looked to have the pace to beat the haas anyway.
Keith Campbell (@keithedin)
23rd October 2023, 11:34
@thegianthogweed You’re right about Stroll, and probably Magnussen, but Hulkenberg only finished 2 seconds behind him, so his pitlane start could have made the difference there. But the main point was the 5 usual point scorers who weren’t classified, which is a pretty high number by today’s standards.
Claus J
23rd October 2023, 12:40
Not to my eyes. Only when he had significant tire advantage. Hulk ended up less than 2 seconds behind him…
Logan only really got ahead of Daniel (everybody did, bye-bye Danny) and the two Ferrari powered Alfas. Everything else was the result of circumstances. He’s driving a car that makes Albon shine (I’m less impressed by Albon than everybody else seems to be) with the best engine in the field, just look what Alpine and McLaren (or Merc, themselves) are capable of. He should do better. He has not done he’s job well this season – as big a disappointment as Daniel or Sergio. Or the Ferrari engine…
SteveP
23rd October 2023, 19:50
With benefit of the doubt, Daniel came back too soon and his hand is still giving problems.
The thing is, I broke a chunk off my humerus back in 1984, and it still gives me problems, so him having aches and pains a few weeks after the event would be no surprise.
Otherwise, the problem is that he’s past his use-by date, which would be a sad end,
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
23rd October 2023, 20:54
He had a decent saturday at least, managed to beat tsunoda in those sessions, but I see how red bull would expect more than matching tsunoda to promote someone to the main team.
Ciaran (@ciaran)
23rd October 2023, 12:02
His pace versus Albon looked a bit better today. It’s a nice confidence boost for him anyway!