"We're a little bit on the slower side" - Logan Sargeant shares the inability of the 2024 F1 cars to pull off overtakes

Logan Sargeant believes the Williams FW46 was slow in general at the Jeddah Corniche circuit during the 2024 Saudi Arabian GP. Speaking to media including Sportskeeda, the American driver felt they lacked the straight line advantage to overtake cars ahead of them.

With the Jeddah Corniche circuit allowing minimal room for overtaking, Logan Sargeant believes that it was slightly difficult to overtake cars. Stuck in a DRS train, the Fort Lauredale born driver was unable to get past the cars ahead of him and finished 14th. He believes that their car purely lacked straight line speed. Another reason behind him being stuck was Haas driver Kevin Magnussen backing them all into a DRS train.

Asked if it was hard to follow cars in the race, Logan Sargeant said:

“Yeah I struggled a little bit, we didn't have the straight line advantage we normally have. If anything we're a little bit on the slower side. So it was difficult because you had to push hard through the corners, damage the tire to try and get close and still it was a challenge to get close in the straights.”

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Logan Sargeant has mixed feelings about his performance at the 2024 Saudi Arabian GP

Logan Sargeant believes his race was good for the first 35 laps but he trailed off in terms of pace towards the end. The American driver felt he could have used his tires a bit more to generate more pace, a potential he didn’t realise and was unable to maximise. He felt the balance of the car on the straights was good but they needed to figure out how to maximise the potential of their car to its fullest.

Asked how he felt after the race, Logan Sargeant said:

“A little bit mixed. I think it was a good for 35 laps, I had a good start. I just tailed off a little bit at the end. I think I didn't realise the potential that was there in the last 12 laps or so. I should have pushed a little bit harder on the tire. So yeah, generally similar. Yeah a little bit to understand there and be better at exploring that potential sooner.”

Asked what he had learned about the strengths and weaknesses of his car, he replied:

“I think straights we definitely generally have a decent balance in the car. But we're just lacking some pace. So yeah we need to try and extract a little bit more potential where we'll find that I'm not currently sure. But yeah, I think all in all the car is in a decent place.”

Logan Sargeant scored a single point on home ground at the 2023 Austin GP in his rookie year. However, Williams are yet to score their first points for the 2024 season. Impeded by Lewis Hamilton in the qualifying session, the 23-year-old was unable to qualify at a decent spot on the grid and started his race from 19th. His teammate Alex Albon finished 11th but was capable of a points finish had he not been backed up into the pack by Magnussen.