Miami Grand Prix: Logan Sargeant on life in F1, ‘Lap of Legends,’ and more

Formula 1 is heading back to the United States.

And for one of the 20 drivers on the grid, it is a true homecoming.

F1 returns to the US for the first of three races stateside this weekend, with the third Miami Grand Prix. But for one driver in particular, this is a true home race. Logan Sargeant, in his second season in F1, is set to drive in his second Miami Grand Prix, just minutes from where he grew up in Fort Lauderdale.

SB Nation caught up with Sargeant this week before heading to Miami, to talk about the start to his second season, the pressure of life in Formula 1, racing in Miami, and even the one spot in South Beach he would recommend for a bite to eat.

A slow start to the season

When Williams officially began the 2024 F1 season, unveiling their challenger for this year at a live event in New York City, confidence around the team was high.

And with good reason.

Williams shocked the field last year, in both Sargeant’s rookie season and the first year for Team Principal James Vowles. Thanks to an impressive performance from Alexander Albon, and Sargeant becoming the first American driver since Michael Andretti back in 1993 to score a point in an F1 race, with a tenth-place finish at last season’s United States Grand Prix, Williams managed a seventh-place finish in the Constructors’ Championship.

The belief was that the team could build on that performance, and maybe even push a spot higher up the table.

While there is a lot of season left, it has been a slow start for Williams. The team has yet to open their account for the 2024 campaign, and endured a difficult weekend in Australia when a crash by Albon during practice left the team with just one operational car for the Australian Grand Prix. Vowles, calling it the most “difficult” decision of his career, decided to slide Albon into Sargeant’s seat, sidelining the American driver during the race.

Our conversation began with the team’s start to the season, and where the team’s collective mindset is heading into Miami.

“I think when I look at the team, there’s areas that we all need to, you know, try and improve on. That we all need to try and do a little bit of a better job on, and I think that’s the mindset. It’s just trying to get everything out of each other,” described Sargeant.

Everyone wants to do their part to ultimately perform the best we can over the course of a weekend. So for sure, we know we need to do things better. But it’s not like we’re demoralized,” continued the Williams driver. “If anything, we’re just working towards making the things that can be better, better.”

One of the things that is better for the team this year?

Their car.

While Williams has yet to finish in the points this season, Sargeant called the FW46, their challenger for the 2024 season, a big improvement over last season’s FW45.

Unfortunately, that does come with a catch….