29 September 2023 , 18:52
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Jost Capito called for his former Williams team to relieve the pressure placed upon Logan Sargeant as he fights for his Formula 1 future.
The American is 16 races into his first season in the sport and has yet to score a point. As a result, his place on the 2024 grid has been questioned.
Current Williams chief James Vowles said this week he has given Sargeant "clear targets" to hit if he wants to keep his spot. But Capito, who was in charge when the decision was made to promote the Floridian, thinks some of the weight needs to be taken off the racer's shoulders.
"Last year, in Formula 2, but also the years before, he got stronger and stronger under pressure," the German told Formel1.de. "I have the impression that this is not the case at the moment. When the pressure is greater, he tends to make more mistakes.
"In [Japanese GP] qualifying on Saturday, he was on Alex Albon's time until the last corner, where the mistake happened. So in terms of speed, he's getting better. It looks like the pressure is making him fast, that he can drive fast and set good times – but then still makes minor mistakes, which then have a bigger cause and effect."
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Giving advice to his successor Vowles, Capito added: "I think if you really want to stand by him and keep him, you have to take pressure off him and let him drive freely.
"If you stand by him, then you have to say to him, 'Listen, yes, you have to go fast and you have to show the speed, but it's not tragic and dramatic if something happens then'. Of course, the cost cap is also an issue, but I believe that if you encourage a driver, he will make fewer mistakes and less will break."
In a video released by the team this week, Vowles confirmed Sargeant remains his preferred choice to race alongside Albon next year. "Logan has very clear targets that he has to hit before the end of the season and we're working with him continuously," he said.
" That's the important point – we're working with him. We want him to succeed, and we want him in the car next year. This is very much on us as well. We have taken someone straight from Formula 2 without any significant testing, put a day and a half in Bahrain in this car, and then wished them well on a season that has been awfully challenging for rookie drivers, full stop.
"We will continue to work with Logan and invest in Logan, as we want him to succeed. He's on a journey with us as Williams. We have a young driver programme that we will continue to invest in. Only at the point where all of us come to the conclusion that we've reached the end of that road will we make any decisions. But we're nowhere near that yet."