Logan Sargeant Compares Himself to Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso as an Excuse For Poor F1 Performance

The situation at Williams Racing is far from optimum, as Logan Sargeant continues to struggle on the track. The American driver is facing heavy backlash as he awaits a contract extension deal with his current employers. Currently, 19 of the 20 seats have been confirmed for the next year’s grid, with Sargeant’s being the only one left. Despite the 22-year-old being the only active driver on the grid without points, team principal James Vowles continues to support the driver, hoping for a turnaround before the season ends.

As doubts about his future in F1 grow, Sargeant pleads all he needs is time, and Vowles is in favor of giving it to him. To further justify his stance to the media, the American driver drew parallels between his time in F1 with the early years of seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton and two-time world champion Fernando Alonso.

Logan Sargeant compares himself to two legends of F1

Sargeant has now gone 17 races without scoring a single point, and the alarm bells are going wild within the Williams camp. The American driver asserts he is still on a learning curve and needs more time to get things right. Even Vowles believes Sargeant needs more time to prove how good he can be. As things get tougher for the 22-year-old each day, a report by Last Word on Sports reveals Sargeant compared his early years in F1 with the early years of Hamilton and Alonso as a potential excuse.

“I mean, back in the day when Lewis [Hamilton] and Fernando [Alonso] joined, everyone back then got endless days of testing. And in the current car, too, which is very different to what we experience now.”

According to Sargeant, the longer testing times from before allowed the drivers to make more mistakes during the sessions and helped them learn from them before heading to a race. However, things have changed now, and with shorter practice windows, the expectation from drivers is that they adapt as quickly as possible. While Sargeant raises a valid point, drivers like Oscar Piastri and Liam Lawson strengthen the case against him.

Piastri and Lawson have been incredible while Sargeant continues to struggle

The names of F1 rookies Oscar Piastri and Liam Lawson are on everyone’s mouths as the two have burst onto the scene, surpassing all expectations from them. While one driver ousted Max Verstappen in the Qualifying session in Singapore to knock him out in Q2, the other registered his first race win in F1 by holding off the Dutchman in the Sprint session in Qatar. Since the Italian GP, Lawson, Piastri, and Sargeant have all had the same practice windows, but the difference in their driving ability has been on show for all to see.

 

Only 1️⃣ seat is yet to be confirmed on the grid for 2024!

If Logan Sargeant doesn’t happen to get a second season at Williams, who do you think could replace him? 🤔#Sargeant #Williams #F1 #Formula1 pic.twitter.com/NLfvcROpOM

— PlanetF1 (@Planet_F1) September 27, 2023

While the other two drivers have brought in valuable points to their team, Sargeant has only cost his team millions in damage repairs as he continues to hunt for his first points of the season. Vowles wants to continue his association with Sargeant, and the American driver wants to do the same as well. However, the same might not be possible if the American driver does not step up his game in the last five races of the season, given how competitive the sport can be.