There is no such thing as a year without pressure in Formula 1. No matter whether you’re one year into a three-year contract or your father part-owns the team, there is always a high level of expectation on every driver.
However, it’s also true that some drivers will be under particularly bright spotlights for 2024. For the following drivers, this could be a pivotal season in their careers.
Some know their contracts are up for renewal and they need to up their game to keep their seat at the table. Others need to dig deep and show they still deserve a place among the front runners.
Last year’s remarkable situation where every driver kept their place on the grid for the following season is surely not about to be repeated in 2025. And these drivers have the most cause for concern about their future prospects.
Logan Sargeant
Logan Sargeant knows that he was fortunate to get a second season at Williams following a rookie campaign that could generously be described as ‘challenging’. He scored just one point all season as team mate Alexander Albon took 27 points over the course of the year and even when he did finish in the top ten, it was only thanks to disqualifications for cars ahead.
For a driver who was so confident about his single-lap performance before starting his rookie season, he likely never anticipated being whitewashed by Albon in the qualifying battle. He reached Q2 only twice in the year, while Albon did so on seven occasions, and was knocked out in Q1 more time than any other driver.
But the biggest area Sargeant must improve on is in cleaning up the all-too-frequent driving errors that only appeared to increase in the second half of the year. Team principal James Vowles has given him a major vote of confidence by allowing him a second season, but Sargeant needs to show a marked improvement in order to have any hope of a third.
Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and
Kevin Magnussen
If 2022 was a triumphant return to the Formula 1 grid for Kevin Magnussen, last season had little for the Haas driver to celebrate. After making second-year team mate Mick Schumacher look like a rookie in his first season back after a year out of the sport, Magnussen was the one made to look second-rate by new team mate Nico Hulkenberg, who joined Haas last year after much longer out of the cockpit.
Although a lot of Magnussen’s troubles last season…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at RaceFans…