Logan Sargeant has been given no specific expectations from Williams as he looks to secure his F1 future but suggests qualifying gains are key.
The American is under pressure with his seat the last thus far unconfirmed for 2024.
Sargeant is in his rookie F1 season but has been comprehensively outperformed by Alex Albon throughout.
Pressure has been mounting on the 22-year-old for some time with the likes of Liam Lawson, who impressed in his five-race cameo for Scuderia AlphaTauri, waiting in the wings.
“Not to deliver anything special but just to be consistent and clean,” Sargeant said when asked what the team expects of him for the balance of 2023.
“That’s been the message. That’s all.
“My goal is just to have consistent, clean weekends and try to be on the limit of what the car gives me.”
Sargeant has had a difficult run in recent races, crashing in the Singapore Grand Prix while also finding the wall during qualifying in Japan.
That incident was more significant and required the team to switch the American to its spare tub.
With spares in tight supply, and the end of the season fast approaching, it was a mistake that could well have ongoing consequences for the team’s on-track performance, too.
Publicly, team boss James Vowles has supported his young driver and stated he’ll allow him until the end of the season to prove himself.
While in one breath it’s a vote of confidence to afford Sargeant the time to steady the ship, it’s also a pragmatic approach from the Williams team principal.
With no other drives available, there is no need to rush a decision on who will partner Albon next season.
By delaying its decision on Sargeant and his F1 future, Williams loses nothing given any other driver currently on the market will still be available following the season finale in Abu Dhabi.
In reality, kicking that can down the road affords an opportunity to assess alternatives; Lawson, Felipe Drugovich, Jack Doohan, and Theo Pourchaire are all knocking on the door without a race seat for 2024.
Sargeant, therefore, must improve in order to secure his F1 future as while he’s most certainly a contender for the drive, he’s hardly unopposed.
That starts in qualifying, with a better Saturday performance typically feeding into improved Sunday results.
“It’s definitely been frustrating at times,” Sargeant said of his single-lap pace.
“It’s always been one of my best, I guess, best things in the past.
“But at the same time, I feel like since the summer break, I’ve really found the speed again.
“It’s just trying to put it all together when it matters is key,” he added.
“Especially, you know, you get one lap at it in quali and that’s either good or not.
“That’s the difficulty but I feel like it is coming back to me.”
sar scored his first point in F1 following the disqualification of Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc at the United States Grand Prix last weekend, promoting him from 12th to 10th.
