Analysis | A new contract from Sargeant: logical and strange at the same time

Williams can surely make good use of the many millions brought by Sargeant through his personal sponsors. Although the British team surprisingly finished seventh in the constructors' championship in 2023 - entirely thanks to Alex Albon - and as a result tens of millions of extra prize money is flowing in.

Sargeant provides highest loss

On the other hand, it must also be said that Sargeant caused a lot of damage due to mistakes. The American's crashes are estimated to cost Williams over $3.9 million. As a result, thanks to his American sponsors, a significant portion of the sponsorship money Sargeant brought in will have immediately evaporated.

So why did Sargeant get a new contract anyway? First of all, he is an American - the only one on the F1 grid. Certainly, for the American owners of Williams (investment company Dorilton Capital), a compatriot in one of the cars is naturally attractive, especially if it were hoped that the team could eventually be handed over to another American party. After all, F1 in the US is booming, and more and more sponsors are interested in getting into the sport. There is a good chance that one will soon want to take over Williams from Dorilton.

Williams had no alternative

Moreover, team boss James Vowles' decision will have factored in that there is no good alternative on the market. Felipe Drugovich - long seen as a serious candidate - and Frederik Vesti (Mercedes junior) are rookies, and it remains to be seen again whether they would develop better than Sargeant with one season of experience. Liam Lawson might have been more of a certainty, but the New Zealander is under contract to Red Bull Racing. The question is whether and on what terms - which Williams could have lived with - the youngster could possibly have been hired.

Let's also be honest: there has been something of an upward trend with Sargeant of late. Williams will no doubt have hopes that the American will develop into someone who picks up points occasionally. That Sargeant is still in the middle of a learning process, he himself realises. For example, he told GPblog: "I think the biggest thing for me is appreciating the level of effort that needs to go into it to be able to perform at such a level every single day."

"You can get away with on a semi-average day in junior formulas, you're still right at the front. Whereas here, that's not the case. So it's about trying to constantly be able to perform at that level, day in and day out. And I think that's been the biggest thing," stated Sargeant, who says this is a major focus for 2024.