Logan Did An Excellent Job

Williams Racing’s Head of Vehicle Performance Dave Robson says that Logan Sargeant did an excellent job as he drove a Formula One car for the first time for the Williams team at the Abu Dhabi Young Driver test on Tuesday.

Logan did an excellent job today. This was his first time in a Formula One car, and he didn’t put a foot wrong. We worked him through a full programme, which introduced him to a range of situations and experiences that are typical of a normal F1 race weekend. He completed 92 laps using the Medium and Soft tyre compounds from last weekend’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix and he adapted to the physical and mental challenges of an intense F1 programme with ease and professionalism.

Everyone at the track and all those back in Grove who have helped prepare Logan for today are very pleased, impressed and proud to see what he achieved. Since he became part of the Williams Team in October, he has been working towards today and he has made the most of this rare opportunity to drive a current F1 race car. His experience from today puts him a great position to work with us to develop the FW44 and will also add to his skillset ahead of his next competitive race drive.

Logan Sargeant completed 92 laps during the test and speaking following the action he said:

What an incredible first day in a Formula One car; it was everything I expected and more. I want to start by saying a massive thank you to Williams, as that was the experience of a lifetime. The team did a great job preparing me for today and giving me the confidence to go out there, enjoy it and do the best I could.

We got through the run plan and I really progressed a lot throughout the test. The first couple of runs felt unbelievable with the amount of grip and power the car has, but I got used to it fairly quickly and felt comfortable by the end of the day. It’s definitely a massive step up from the FIA Formula 2 and FIA Formula 3 cars; the brake performance is much better and there’s a lot more downforce. The stopping power was like nothing I’ve felt before! The more you drive, the more you learn and the more pace you find, so I was happy with the lap times I was putting in by the time we finished today.