The sad, inevitable fate of a just-not-driver in Formula 1

For an F1 driver, the first point of reference is your teammate. You have to beat that one. In the nearly one-and-a-half years that Albon and Sargeant have been a pair at Williams, the American has managed to beat his teammate in qualifying only once. It is a dramatic figure. Yet, it has become increasingly clear of late that Sargeant is unable to function as he would like due to factors external to him.

James Vowles' decision in Melbourne was telling. After Albon folded his own car into the wall, Sargeant had to relinquish his to the Thai. The reason? Albon was more likely to score points that race in Australia than Sargeant. Incidentally, the Thai did not get into the points that afternoon.

Sargeant has to make do with different material

The first points for Williams were not taken until last weekend in Monaco. Indeed, by Albon. That should come as no surprise, especially when it turns out that Albon did have several updates at his disposal. As so often: at Williams, it's Albon first, Sargeant playing second fiddle. "Different rear wing," Sargeant told the likes of GPblog about what the difference was to his bolide.

"That's making a huge difference with controlling the tires as well, but we had a different floor and I had to make a slight compromise on set up just missing a part," the American told GPblog, who then pointed out that his rear wing was the one from last season. "I still made the most of the situation and we can hold our heads high."

Sargeant tries to stay positive

Meanwhile, Sargeant does get judged by the results, which are not like his teammate's. The American, too, must be reading the newspapers and what is appearing online, and no one doubts that it will soon end for him at Williams. In Formula 1 probably even. Perhaps a test driver role is available somewhere, but racing? IndyCar perhaps?

With all these setbacks, stay positive. Admirably, Sargeant tries. "I don't like to put blame anywhere but, I'm just happy with the way I drove," he said. To later add: "It's part of the game, of course, I want to have everything [the upgrades], but I also know how hard everyone is working to try and bring all the parts of the car to both cars and we will get there as a team."

This article is written in collaboration with Sophia Crothall.