Just like Nyck de Vries, fellow Formula 1 rookie Logan Sargeant is already under pressure to keep his race seat.
Red Bull’s Dr Helmut Marko has admitted Alpha Tauri newcomer de Vries, after a difficult start to 2023, will come under intense scrutiny now that the sport has returned to more familiar European circuits.
The same also seems to be the case for American rookie Sargeant, 22, who has struggled with a string of qualifying losses to teammate Alex Albon as well as multiple mistakes.
Williams team boss James Vowles admitted recently that he had misgivings about Sargeant from the beginning, as he was appointed by his ousted predecessor Jost Capito.
“I was a little bit reticent in wondering whether it would take him a little bit of time to get used to it,” Vowles said.
But he insisted to Speed Week that Sargeant is in the 2023 car “because he’s fast”.
“But he has to start controlling things and delivering them cleanly,” Vowles added.
But apart from making mistakes, Sargeant is also struggling for pace – having been outqualified by Albon on every single occasion so far this season.
“I don’t expect him to be able to keep up with Alex’s pace,” Vowles said. “He also has a number of races behind him now in which he had never seen the circuit.”
According to Sport1, Vowles’ former boss at Mercedes – Toto Wolff – is believed to be pushing for Sargeant to be replaced at Williams by reserve Mick Schumacher.
Schumacher is attending every grand prix as Mercedes’ official reserve this year and he sounds determined to return to the grid as soon as possible.
“I believe in the zodiac signs,” Schumacher laughed to Bild newspaper. “I’m an Aries and I’ll bang my head against the wall to come back.”
(GMM)
