Three drivers began their first full Formula 1 campaigns in Sunday’s Bahrain Grand Prix.
While none of them came away with any points, and one barely completed more than a dozen laps, the trio all declared themselves satisfied with their start to life as full-time grand prix drivers.
Logan Sargeant
Start: 16th – Finish: 12th
Logan Sargeant endured an agonising close miss in qualifying where he had the pace to join team mate Alexander Albon in Q2. The Williams newcomer set an identical lap time to the thousandth of a second as Lando Norris but the McLaren driver claimed the final place in the second round as he set the time before Sargeant.
Nonetheless the Formula 2 graduate overtook three cars on his first lap in F1 and made it into the top ten before his first pit stop. He repeated the feat during his second stint of the race, then his third pit stop under a Virtual Safety Car period dropped him back down to 14th.
Sargeant passed Nyck de Vries and Zhou Guanyu to finish 12th, but lost his chance to complete the full race distance when Max Verstappen put him a lap down shortly before the chequered flag.
He described himself “really pleased” with his first race. “I feel like everything operationally from race start to pit stops, VSCs, everything went smoothly. I’m really happy with the pace that me and Alex had today. The team’s done an amazing job all weekend, just unlocking that pace.”
“We probably didn’t expect where we were now, compared to the test,” Sargeant admitted, “and that’s just a massive testament to the work that the team has done. Super proud of everyone.”
Sargeant said he “just looked for the gaps and tried to fill them” on lap one as he made up places. ”I loved every second of it. I love the on-track battles and it’s super fun.”
He described the experience of being in an F1 race as “very natural” once he was in the thick of things.
“Before the formation lap, there was a little extra [nerves]. But to be honest, I felt like once I got into the race, once I got into the rhythm, it all felt very natural.”
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Nyck de Vries
Start: 19th – Finish: 14th
Dr Vries made his F1 debut at Monza in 2022 as a last-minute substitute for Albon at Williams. He said he physically felt “a lot better than Monza” on his return. “I think I’m ready for a double training session tomorrow”.
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