It hasn’t been easy for rookies to establish themselves in this sport. More so, recently. We’ve seen the likes of Mick Schumacher bite the dust in the most disheartening way possible. However, on the other hand, if you can leave your mark in your very first Grand Prix as a rookie, chances are, you’re in here for the long haul. This tantalizing proposition awaited American rookie Logan Sargeant as he got strapped into the Williams for his first-ever competitive F1 race ever at Bahrain last week.
His Saturday got off to a good start after, even though he finished only in P16, he set the same lap-time as McLaren’s hotshot Lando Norris. That being said, the icing on top of the debut cake for Sargeant was the opening lap of the 2023 Bahrain Grand Prix. As the five lights went out, Sargeant never did once look or drive like a rookie. He leapt off the grid and into turn 4 he’d already made up a few places in amazing fashion.
This is exactly why the 22-year-old is being hailed back in his country as a hero. During ESPN F1’s podcast ‘Unlapped’, the hosts were discussing Sargeant’s lap-1 heroics, “For the first lap in an F1 car on a race start, you know, you would’ve been forgiven for being super timid and thinking ‘just wanna get through it’. But none of that. He’s, you know, He’s got some balls!”
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It would appear that Sargeant has all the help he needs. And experience comes quickly in a sport like F1.
Logan Sargeant is already on-route to a radical change from Bahrain learnings
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For his very first time in an F1 car, the American’s performance was sublime. He finished 12th overall in the race, and maintained good pace. But for Sargeant, he’s already made a crucial step closer to carving a niche out for himself in this sport.
He was quoted as revealing to Formula1.com, “I feel like I didn’t quite have the right approach going into qualifying. Our car was good enough to make Q2. At the time, I didn’t know that was the case so I went in a little bit more aggressive than I should have.”
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How will Sargeant fare against the rest of the grid over the course of the season?