Sargeant finds FP1 crash not a rookie mistake: 'Still confident'

After having to give up his Formula 1 car to Alexander Albon before the Australian Grand Prix, the GP weekend in Japan has not started well for Logan Sargeant. The American crashed his Williams in the first free practice session, which also prevented him from taking part in FP2. However, he assures there was no rookie mistake.

Sargeant admits he made a 'silly mistake', but stresses that it was of a different nature from his debut year in F1. "I put the car in a place I didn’t realise I was at. It’s a bit of a silly mistake and one that I shouldn’t be making especially in FP1. Fortunately, it wasn’t like the mistake last year when I over pushed. Nevertheless, I still left the team with some damage but got away better than it could’ve been," he pointed out.

"It definitely wasn't knocked at all," he adds. "If anything I came into this round after a week off feeling more fresh and ready to go than ever. So no. No confidence lost. I wanted to kick myself a little bit after today but nothing to do with that. It was just a visual error that I'll move forward from tomorrow."

Sargeant's crash came two weeks after he had to give up his car to Alex Albon, who crashed his car in Australia. Williams had no spare chassis available and therefore chose the driver who performs most consistently for the team. This weekend too, Sargeant will have to make do with his teammate's repaired car.