Sargeant done with social media: 'Good or bad, I always get criticised'

Points did not result, but the last two Grands Prix left Sargeant feeling satisfied. "I think I've been driving well and I'm happy with what I've been doing so I'll just try and keep that up," he said, sitting in one of his team's hospitality rooms. Yet it seems Sargeant's future is no longer in Formula 1. Williams does not have him in mind for 2025 and there are even rumours that Sargeant will be sidelined during this season.

Sargeant wants to repay 'his' people with performance

Anyone listening to Sargeant talk this Thursday cannot escape the impression that there has been some noise between him, his team and the outside world anyway. For instance, when asked if team boss James Vowles has given him any feedback, such as saying he is doing well? "No, not really." Whether he found that annoying, was the logical follow-up question? "No, not really. Like I said, I do my best to perform on a personal level. I want to come here and perform well for all the guys and girls who are working hard for me and, trying to maximize our performance every single weekend. And, ultimately, I know when I perform well. So if I can do that and give back to them, then that's what I'm trying to do."

Every racing driver dreams of Formula 1. Sargeant did too. But by now he has experienced how rock-hard the sport can be. If things don't work out, you are judged harshly - by the team and the outside world. Sargeant admits that the ideal image he used to have of Formula 1 has changed. "I've quickly realised that no one knows what truly goes on inside a team other than in it. Life's not always fair but it is what it is."

That sounds like a disappointment.
"It’s nothing to be disappointed about, I get to drive an F1 car and not many people can say that."

Do you think social media has created a false image of you?
"I do believe that no matter how I drive whether it's good or bad I'll get criticised either way. I’m at a point where I really don’t care what people think. It’s impossible to please everyone, so I show up and I do my best to please myself.."

Why do you think this way?
"I do things well, it's still all negative. Well, not completely, but you still see a lot of negativity. And, it's why you see a lot of athletes really not in control of their social media anymore. It gives people a voice that I have never experienced performing at this high of a level and how difficult it is. It just is what it is."

Is that why you started doing things differently on social media?
"No, I've been off it for quite a while now," he says.

That's probably something you never asked for?
"Yes, it's quite a draining place. I think when you're doing things well, of course, people want to drag you down."

You're an American in Formula One, a European-oriented place. Is there scepticism towards American drivers or people from the US at all?
"TIt's a very thin-line question to answer. Don't think I can say what I really think. I'll leave it at that."