Alexander Albon says he expects to have a fast team-mate during the 2023 FIA Formula 1 World Championship season if Logan Sargeant earns the points needed to get a Superlicence during the season-ending FIA Formula 2 round in Abu Dhabi later this month.
Sargeant will race for Williams Racing in 2023 in place of Nicholas Latifi if he earns the Superlicence, and he will partner Albon, who will continue with the team for a second consecutive year.
Albon has already been impressed by Sargeant since he joined Williams as a Development Driver, and he got to see first-hand how the young American performed in the car when he participated in free practice sessions ahead of the United States Grand Prix and the Mexico City Grand Prix.
And the Thai driver hopes the American, who will become the first from his country to race in Formula 1 since Alexander Rossi in 2015, will help move the team forward and bring them into regular points contenders.
“He basically sits in on every meeting now and can listen to how we communicate,” Albon is quoted as saying by the German edition of Motorsport.com. “The most important thing for us is: we have to take the team forward now.
“That’s our main goal for 2023, but of course, Logan is a rookie. I will be open to him because the bottom line is that we have to pull together and we want to move more towards the midfield. That’s why I’m passing on my knowledge to him, but I don’t have to take him by the hand.
“First we need to know where he stands with his experience and knowledge. So it’s good that he’s doing some Friday practice now. That will speed up his development.
“Then we have the whole winter to process this information. But I already know: he will be very fast, he’s eager to learn, asking questions all the time.”
