‘I know what I need to do’ – Sargeant discusses his chances of retaining Williams seat for 2024

Logan Sargeant is confident that he has what it takes to secure a fresh deal with Williams through the 2024 campaign, saying the key focus over the remaining seven Grands Prix will be to “cut out mistakes” and “clean up” his weekends.

Sargeant stepped up from F2 at the start of the year and is the only full-time driver on the grid yet to score a point, with all 21 of Williams’ haul so far this season coming from more experienced team mate Alex Albon.

IT’S RACE WEEK: 5 storylines we’re excited about ahead of the 2023 Japanese Grand Prix

While encouraged by his raw pace relative to Albon, the American rookie accepted that the errors he has been making – such as his off during the Singapore Grand Prix last time out – cannot continue if he wants to stay in the sport.

Pushed on whether he knows exactly what’s required to keep his spot at Williams, Sargeant said: “Yeah, I know what I need to do. It starts with cutting out those mistakes and delivering clean weekends.

“From a pace standpoint, I feel like I’m pretty close to where I need to be, [I need to] just clean it up, start delivering when I need to and it should be all good.”

Asked about his Singapore setback, and how much he has beaten himself up in the days since, the 22-year-old added: “It’s not ideal, of course. I think I did a good job of compartmentalising that in the race.

READ MORE: ‘He’s pushed me a lot’ – Norris full of praise for Piastri after F1 rookie signs new McLaren deal

“I got straight back out there, my next two stints were solid, considering I had some damage to the car, so I was quite proud how I was able to completely forget about it within a lap and get back to it.

“I was happy with how the back half of the race went, I never gave up and I’ll carry that into this weekend, keep believing and just try and be better this weekend.”

Discussion about his future aside, Sargeant is set for his first-ever laps around the historic Suzuka circuit during Friday practice and added that he is raring to get out on track and soak up the experience.

“It’s awesome,” he commented. “I walked the track this morning, I’ve done a lot of laps on the simulator… When you see it in person you really appreciate it.

DRIVER MARKET: Ricciardo, Tsunoda and Lawson – a three-way tussle for two AlphaTauri seats

“It’s probably one of the most special track walks I’ve done this year. I think everyone’s expressed how amazing it is to drive here and I’m just excited to experience that for myself.”