Sargeant takes Miami GP error on the chin

Logan Sargeant said he has to take his error early in the Miami Grand Prix on the chin after front wing damage left him adrift of the rest of the field.

The Williams driver was making his home race debut and missed out on Q2 by just over 0.2s, but in such a competitive field that still meant he lined up last on Sunday. Trying to make progress early on, Sargeant damaged his front wing against Lance Stroll’s Aston Martin on the opening lap and admitted the mistake ruined his race.

“I put the car in a place I shouldn’t have on lap one and took the front wing off,” Sargeant said. “So I had to box early to get on that hard tire and run it for the rest of the race. I’m going to have to take it on the chin and move on.

“I think the hard stint at the end wasn’t too bad considering we took it 54 laps. We were a bit conservative on the balance at the start of the race, so I had to persevere with that throughout the race and use my tools to try and get it in a better window. All things considered, I think I managed it well from that first pit stop onwards.”

Sargeant conceded that the increased attention that came with Miami being his home race made it hard for him to find his form in the cockpit, and said he is keen to put that aspect of the weekend behind him.

“It’s been a tricky weekend as a whole,” he said. “It just hasn’t come very easily to me and it was difficult, but at the same time, I really enjoyed the whole weekend, I’ve just got to move onto the next one.”

However, Williams head of vehicle performance Dave Robson believes Sargeant showed solid pace after the incident, as his car had picked up additional damage.

“Logan was ambitious on the opening lap and damaged his front wing in a minor contact with Lance,” Robson said. “We took the opportunity to pit him, change his wing and get into some free air. He had a lonely race from there but still showed some decent pace, despite some floor damage, during a very long stint on the hard tire. He can still take a lot and can take that learning into a tricky triple-header, starting in Imola in two weeks’ time.”