American Rookie Logan Sargeant’s Below Par F2 Showing a Blessing in Disguise: “No One Is Expecting Him To…”

F1 rookies often come in with a certain level of hype and expectations. While 2022 only had one rookie, Zhou Guanyu, the next year is giving us debutants galore. With all the major hype on 2021 F2 champion Oscar Piastri, no one is arguably placing any huge bets on American Logan Sargeant.

Logan Sargeant had a decent, but not great Formula 2 season in 2022. Finishing 4th in the standings, Sargeant secured enough super license points to get an F1 seat with Williams. In light of this, only few are expecting him to make a huge impact in his rookie season next year.

F1 presenter Will Buxton put forth his thoughts on Sargeant and explained how his below-par F2 showing might be a blessing in disguise for him. On the PitStop podcast, Buxton said, “Yea, he [Logan Sargeant] has kind of flown under the radar. Look he didn’t smash Formula 2.”

The 41-year-old alluded to the fact that since Sargeant may have gone unnoticed and flown under everyone’s radar, he might turn out to be the surprise package and do very well in F1.

Buxton further analyzed how Logan can exceed people’s expectations. He added, “I think with Logan [Sargeant], I don’t think anyone’s expecting magic from him. No one is expecting him to suddenly set the world on fire.”

“So if he does, if he gets close to [Alex] Albon, who we all know is phenomenal, then it’s [a] big tick for Logan Sargeant.”

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Despite the low expectations, Sargeant will still be determined to make a mark in his debut year. Besides, he will also be looking to outshine his long-time rival, Oscar Piastri.

Will 2023 show us a Battle of the Rookies – Logan Sargeant v Oscar Piastri?

Despite being in vastly different cars, Logan Sargeant and Oscar Piastri will be looking to outshine each other in their respective capacities. While Piastri is higher up the midfield in a McLaren, Sargeant can still get a few chances at the odd race to fight against his old rival.

The Williams car has been volatile in performance in 2022. Although they managed to get some good straight-line speed at some tracks with long straights. So, if Piastri gets stuck in a battle with Sargeant at Spa or Monza, don’t be surprised to see some wheel-to-wheel action.

McLaren still should give Piastri a better car. So the expectations might be higher for the Australian. Eventually, for both Sargeant and Piastri, their success in their rookie season will be determined by how close they get to their teammates.

As per Will Buxton, Sargeant’s case is the polar opposite of Piastri’s. Oscar has all the attention on him while Logan is flying under the radar. So, the playing field is uneven for a direct comparison between the two rookies.

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2023 is going to be a blast of a season with so many plotlines. Irrespective of whether we get a title battle or not, the mid-field will be ever-close and unpredictable. What are your expectations from the 2023 rookies Logan Sargeant and Oscar Piastri?