Sargeant struggled through his rookie year with Williamshaving an early tendency to overdrive a difficult to handle FW45 to keep up with team-mate Alex Albon.
While the Floridian made gains through the latter half of the year, which saw him rewarded with a second year, he still only ended the season with just one point amid what he felt was a draining experience.
Having realized he was physically behind where he needed to be, Sargeant completely altered his preparation for 2024.
“The off season has been such a good opportunity for me to take a step back and look at myself from mental, emotional and physical standpoint where I need to do improve, where I need to get better,” Sargeant said at Williams’ season launch .
“I learned that I need to manage myself much better. I let myself get very drained throughout the season and I let that affect me off the track, which ultimately brings it onto the track.
“I wasn’t physically in the place I need to be and I’ve done everything I can to get on top of that. For example, I’m five kilos heavier than I was at the end of last year, and I feel much more healthy and much more ready to go.
“I feel like a different man, I feel like physically I am in the best shape I’ve ever been. And I believe in the condition I’m in now and will continue to get to will be simply just helping me feel more comfortable in the car and extract performance.”
Logan Sargeant, Williams Racing
Photo by: Williams
Sargeant’s rookie plight wasn’t helped by Williams having an ill-handling car that required a particular driving style that both he and Albon had to adapt to. Having a more compliant, all-round car that has a wider operating window has been the number one priority for Williams, and Albon believes the FW46 will make it easier for his team-mate to get into the right rhythm.
“Logan will have that experience now into this year, I don’t think it’ll be so much of a learning curve for him,” Albon said. “I personally believe that the car’s gonna be a bit easier to drive.
“Our car was very unique. I spent two years refining a very strange driving style, which for someone coming into the car for the first time, without any prior F1 experience, is difficult.
“It was very easy to overdrive the car. I think naturally the car’s going to go towards him as in a bit less on a knife edge and more usable. So I think what you’re going to see is a guy with a lot more experience and a car that should be more usable and that will in itself bring performance.”
Team principal James Vowles says he has asked Sargeant “to surprise the world” after his contract renewal was met with a mixed response by fans and observers.
“First and foremost, I’ve asked him to surprise the world in terms of his physical fitness, his approach and his performance,” Vowles explained.
“We’ve changed quite a bit with him across the winter period, his trainer is different, his training programs are completely different. You should see he’s a much more confident person and he carries that well.
Logan Sargeant, Williams FW45
Photo by: Steven Tee / Motorsport Images
“What I’ve asked him to do is to approach the first few days of driving the car with caution again, the same way he did at the end of the year, build up into it and don’t try and rush into success.
“That’s the confidence I placed in him. That’s why he’s back in the car. I need him now to not go back to his old ways of trying to extract too much from himself and from the car too quickly, but rather approach things progressively.
“We should have a car that is more suitable to both drivers. I’m hoping that we’ve got rid of some of these really nasty effects from last year, but that will also make a platform for him where he should be able to grow much faster than he did in 2023.”
