Williams driver Logan Sargeant says he is in a much better shape to attack his second season in Formula 1 after gaining weight over the off-season.
Sargeant finished 21st in the championship in his rookie campaign in Formula 1 last year with just a single points finish.Heading into his second season, Sargeant says he believes he is in a much stronger condition physically and mentality to improve in 2024.
“The off-season’s been great,” Sargeant told media including RaceFans. “It’s been such a good opportunity for me to take a step back, reflect, look at myself from a mental, emotional and physical standpoint – where I needed to improve, where I needed to get better.
“I feel like that off-season’s the first chance you really have to really do something about it and it’s been great. I got to spend some time at home, really refresh, get myself into the best shape I’ve ever been in and feel more ready than ever to make the step that I know I can make.”
Facing a long 24-round season in 2024, Sargeant says he is much better prepared to cope with the demands of a full grand prix calendar this season.
“I think it’s all in the details,” he explained. “I learned a lot throughout the season. I learned that I need to manage myself much better. I let myself get very drained throughout the season and I let that affect me off the track, which ultimately brings it onto the track.
“I wasn’t physically in the place I need to be and I’ve done everything I can to get on top of that. For example, I’m five kilos heavier than I was at the end of last year and I feel much more healthy and much more ready to go. And from a driving point of view, just having that reference, every single track that I go to, of what a Formula 1 car is capable of, I can now really start on a much better footing going into these weekends. I know much more of what I can do behind the scenes as well to extract performance from a driving standpoint.”
Sargeant will race alongside Alexander Albon for a second season in 2024. Asked about his team mate’s weight gain, Albon explained he is not in a position to do the same.
“Unfortunately, Logan’s about seven or eight centimetres shorter than me, so he has the luxury to put on those four or five kilos,” Albon explained.
“If I did four or five kilos, I would be four or five kilos overweight, unfortunately! My operating weight is already right on the limit, so it is a bit more difficult for me to put on muscle mass without making myself slower in the car.”
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Stephen C Taylor
7th February 2024, 13:14
I hope Logan proves the douters wrong this year . I still there is still potential for him to be a very good Grand Prix.
An Sionnach
7th February 2024, 14:21
Good. You can only improve from where you are! Hopefully nobody will have to go through something like last year’s Qatar race again. The extra fitness should help with everything.
I wonder if the lack of proper testing both for drivers and car designs is really sensible? It’s obvious that you can only simulate what you already understand and we’ve had nine teams waste time and money developing cars that aren’t good enough. That’s hardly good for the environment, either. The balance needs to be pushed back a bit. It’s been an embarrassment for the sport since 2022.
Nulla Pax (@nullapax)
7th February 2024, 15:54
So that’s the secret!
Tell Mercedes to keep that seat open while I find my nearest 24 Hour takeaway.
We might need a bigger car ….
RR
7th February 2024, 16:17
He has added weight to the argument for replacing him :)
Adam (@rocketpanda)
7th February 2024, 19:06
Don’t want to be mean, but wasn’t this the same guy that told the media he didn’t use a drinks bottle while driving and then became so ill during a race he voluntarily retired?
Steve
7th February 2024, 19:32
I think Logan got confused when Williams said they needed another 5k (although it’s more likely to be 5 million).
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
7th February 2024, 22:16
So much hatred towards mick schumacher by some people, yet sargeant, who’s been plain worse, got a 2nd season, perhaps williams might be a better team to start out than haas (yes, schumacher also got a 2nd season, but the first one the car and team mate were both terrible, he had no reference points car-wise or team mate wise, so I consider the 2nd the only real one, while williams was decent already last season and albon also a decent driver, if not better).
d0senbrot (@d0senbrot)
8th February 2024, 9:25
It’s strange right? And people said Schumacher benefited from his name and money. I still don’t quite understand how Mick ended up at Haas instead of Sauber. While Zhou gets a third season there…
pcxmac (@pcxmac)
8th February 2024, 6:34
chances are he will fair better than last year, but with no new rookies hes got a big hurdle to jump personally. hopefully williams have a better car to setup this year.
Christopher Rehn (@chrischrill)
8th February 2024, 8:25
2024 is a do-or-die kind of season of Logan. Albon is rated very highly, so even getting close to him would be enough to make Sargeant’s stock rise. Another quali washout like last season, and he’ll be looking toward Indycar for 2025.