F1: Vowles says Sargeant needed more test miles

(GMM) James Vowles says Logan Sargeant would have performed better in his debut F1 season if he had enjoyed more testing miles.

The 22-year-old American’s current seat is the last one yet to be officially filled for the 2024 season, but Williams boss James Vowles takes some of the blame for Sargeant’s struggle.

“We’ve put him there, and we’ve given him nearly no testing mileage,” he said. “I’m used to 30,000km, not 850.”

Sargeant is fully on board with that analysis, as most pundits now agree that Williams will give the Florida-born rookie at least another year to get up to speed.

“The ideal would be to have more kilometers as it’s the best way to prepare,” Spanish media reports quote Sargeant as saying.

“In the past, when Hamilton and Alonso arrived in Formula 1, they had endless of days of testing in the car, something that is very different from today.

“Now, whenever you test, it’s with a previous-generation car and that makes a difference. But even if it had had more days in the winter with any car would have been better.”

Sargeant says he still feels the support of the Oxfordshire-based team, who are delaying the contract decision until after the 2023 season.

“They know what happens behind the scenes and they want me to be successful,” he insisted. “The team supports me, so I don’t care what the rest say.

“Experience always helps, but I have people to talk to as I try to adjust the way I approach each situation in order to put an end to the small mistakes I’m making.”