Sky Sports commentator makes remarkable defence for Sargeant

Logan Sargeant has been given a second chance at Williams. Despite the fact that his performance in 2023 was not top-notch, according to David Croft, this is not always expected of a driver. Sargeant has been compared to Max Verstappen's performance over Alex Albon's Red Bull stint in this respect.

The 2023 F1 season ended for Sargeant with just one point, which he earned at the United States Grand Prix. This happened after Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton were removed from the results due to disqualification.

How to compare Sargeant

The most worrying fact for the rookie was the constant comparison with his teammate. Alexander Albon prevailed over Sargeant in every race in 2023. Even when both completed the race, it was the Thai driver who crossed the finish line first. However, Williams has decided to give Sargeant another year, a decision Croft understands.

"A lot of the criticism is he hasn't even out-qualified his teammate. 'Oh, he can't even beat his teammate in qualifying'. It's true. But the last person to go through a whole season and not beat his teammate in qualifying was Alex Albon. Should we have written Albon off right at that moment? Well, with the benefit of hindsight, no we shouldn't because he's turned into a fine driver," Croft stated in a Sky Sports podcast.

"You're not always like a Max Verstappen coming out of the box and bringing it straight away. Sometimes you need more time. Let's see how Logan does next year," added the Sky Sports commentator. This comparison is remarkable, considering that Albon was up against Max Verstappen that year, a driver who is considered one of the best in Formula 1.