Logan Sargeant was left to reflect on a “super painful” Dutch Grand Prix weekend during which he suffered two heavy crashes.
In qualifying at the Zandvoort circuit, the American driver had performed superbly to reach Q3 for the first time in his rookie campaign with Williams, only to crash heavily out of Turn 2, damaging both the front and rear end.
Following a superb job of rebuilding the car overnight, and with the consolation of at least starting from his highest grid slot of the year, Sargeant concedes he was too conservative in the early phase when the rain began to fall as soon as the race started.
On a drying track on lap 16, Sargeant crashed again out of Turn 8. Television images showed him slumped, head bowed as he sat on a grassed area adjacent to the track.
The dejection in his voice when he spoke to the media – including Speedcafe – post-race was evident.
“A disappointing day,” was Sargeant’s disappointed, yet understated assessment.
“Firstly, I’m just grateful for all the efforts that the team put in to get the car ready. It was back in a good window, rebuilt very well, so that was a really nice start.
“But it was a tricky first 15 laps, just being too cautious, not wanting to crash after what had happened (in qualifying), just losing a bit too much tyre temp in those wet conditions, which cost me a lot of time. I left too much on the table at the start.
“Apart from that, I was starting to get back into a rhythm as the track was drying but then I just touched the apex curve at Turn 8, and I lost hydraulics and power steering, and that just sent me off.
“Once I touched all the damp stuff, there was really no recovery, so not sure why exactly that happened.
“It’s something we need to look into for sure, but honestly, I’m just disappointed for everyone who put in the effort to have it ready, disappointed for the team, another destroyed car.
“For it to only last 15 laps, and I appreciate all the work and all the effort, but for it to come to nothing is super painful. That’s the bit I hate the most.”
The circumstances of his incident during the grand prix did seem unusual as Sargeant appeared to lose the car for no apparent reason after taking to the Turn 8 kerbing.
“I’ve used it all weekend, to be honest, and it wasn’t like I was hitting it crazy hard,” said Sargeant. “It was always okay.”
Sargeant departed the circuit with team principal James Vowles, and it now remains to be seen what impact the two crashes will have on him going forward.
Asked by Speedcafe whether he had been given any words of encouragement from the team in the wake of the second crash, he said: “After qualifying, everyone was still super proud we had made it to Q3. It was a great weekend to that point.
“They didn’t blame me for pushing. It was Q3 and we were just happy to be there for the first time this year, so there was definitely encouragement there.
“This (his race crash) is a completely different situation, but in the end, it’s the same outcome, and that’s not a good one.
“It’s just a tough one.”
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