F1 news: Logan Sargeant ‘happy’ with qualifying effort at Miami Grand Prix

MIAMI — When the dust settled following the first portion of qualifying at Hard Rock Stadium for the Miami Grand Prix, Williams driver Logan Sargeant found himself eliminated, just 0.034 behind Fernando Alonso, who squeaked into Q2 in P15.

While that might sound frustrating to some, Sargeant was pleased with his effort, and believed that there is even more performance to unlock in Sunday’s main event.

“I could have squeezed a bit more out of it and got through to Q2,” said Sargeant to the media, including SB Nation, following qualifying. “But most importantly, I feel like the changes we made between the sprint race and quali were in the right direction, which would ultimately help us for tomorrow.

“But yeah, I was happy with what I did today.”

The young driver also made it clear that this is the most comfortable he has felt all year, starting with Friday’s single practice session.

“And I feel like, I mean, jumping in FP1 this weekend is the most comfortable I felt all year and I feel like I was straight away on it,” described Sargeant. And if I look since Australia, I feel like it’s been going relatively well, from Japan, getting almost everything out of it.

“Of course, China was disappointing. But again, here today, I feel like I did a good job. Just looking for that last tenth, but nonetheless, just enjoying it, being home and, and keep delivering the best I can.”

As you probably know, the bigger question facing Sargeant is not how comfortable he is in the FW46 at the moment, but how much longer he will keep driving it. The rumors regarding Andrea Kimi Antonelli continue to swirl around the paddock, with multiple reports surfacing that a team — reportedly Williams — have requested a dispensation to allow Antonelli, who is yet to turn 18, to receive a Super License.

On Friday during the FIA Press Conference, Williams team boss James Vowles downplayed those rumors, but did note that Sargeant has some “tough targets” to hit and that ultimately, he needs to earn his spot.

Asked about those rumors, and whether he had received any “assurances” regarding his spot from Vowles, Sargeant brushed the question aside. “I talk to James internally, I talk to my managers, that’s all internal talk, so nothing to say.”

Ultimately, Sargeant is in Miami to do a job. And the driver believes that if he can sort out a few things on Sunday, then he can put the cars in front of him under threat.

“I feel confident in the changes we made, which is in the right direction. Nonetheless, we have to wait and see,” said Sargeant.

“I was really happy with the straight-line speed advantage that we have, if we can sort out some of our exits, we’ll be able to put a lot of people in a threat.”