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Logan Sargeant insists he still has the full support of Williams boss James Vowles, although is unsure whether he will be given a second season with the F1 team.
Sargeant endured a wretched Dutch Grand Prix weekend after reaching Q3 for the first time in his rookie season.
In the top-10 shoot-out, he spun out and crashed heavily into a barrier, leading to major overnight repairs being undertaken in order to get him back on track for the race.
After just 16 laps, however, Sargeant crashed again. The understanding is a hydraulics issue, caused by hitting the kerb at Turn 8, sparked a power-steering failure that again sent him into a barrier.
Sargeant’s dejection post-race was obvious, with the 22-year-old American seen by Speedcafe leaving the Zandvoort paddock in deep discussion with Vowles.
As to the role Vowles has played in helping him shake off the mental effects of two crashes in 24 hours, Sargeant said: “Obviously, it’s a terrible feeling, mainly, of course, for the damage, and then for every individual who helped get the car ready for Sunday. To have it all undone is terrible.
“But James has been there to support me since the start, and he’s still there to support me, just to keep giving me good advice, keep helping me move in the right direction.
“It’s not an ideal situation, but at the end of the day, you have to put it in a box, close it, take the learnings from it, and just get rid of it.
“I have to make sure I’m not thinking about last week into this one because that will just affect you in a negative way, so it’s compartmentalising that, closing it, putting it to bed, and going at it again.”
Sargeant knows if he is to have any hope of securing a new deal, he has to “eradicate those small mistakes that end up being costly”.
He added: “It’s clear I need to get rid of those. I know I have to get rid of those, but at the same time, I personally see myself making a lot of progress.
“If I can get rid of those and just keep delivering qualifying laps when I need to, it will put me in a much better window and give myself more opportunity to fight for points and put the car where it can be.”
As yet, though, with nine races and three months of the season remaining, he does not know what the future holds beyond the final race of the campaign in Abu Dhabi in late November.
“Of course, I want to be here next year,” said Sargeant.
“But I don’t think about it, to be honest, because I don’t want to waste energy on that when I need to be putting all my energy into getting ready for these weekends, making sure I’m mentally and physically prepared.
“I know what I have to do going into them, how I’m going to improve and leaving myself in the best possible position.
“Ultimately worrying about that (a new contract), it’s not going to help me on track, so there’s no point thinking too much about it.”
