Williams Says Yes to Another Year with Logan Sargeant

Williams had their highest finish in the F1 championship in recent years finishing 7th in the constructors championship standings. While the majority of that success was mostly attributed to Alex Albon scoring 27 points this season Sargent was able to secure one championship point in his rookie season. Williams announced today that Logan Sargeant had performed well enough to retain his seat in 2024 with the Williams side.

Team Principal, James Vowles

“I am pleased to continue our journey with Logan into the 2024 season,” James commented. “Logan has demonstrated immense skill whilst under the pressure of the world stage, making him a perfect fit for our team. We have great confidence in his abilities and believe that together we can achieve even greater success in the upcoming season.”

The signing was the last driver’s seat in question for the 2024 season. With Sargeant confirmed the grid is now set. Barring any unlikely issues with the teams not paying their FIA licensing fees for next season we will expect to see all 20 drivers back out to fight again next season.

Now that the 2023 Formula One season has come to an end its time for the 10 teams to reap the benefits of a hard fought year. The F1 prize money pay out scale decreases based on finishing position.

2023 F1 Championship Prize Money

2024 Entry Fees Based on Points Finish

To participate in the 2024 season the team will have to pay an entry licensing fee. As the 2023 champions Red Bull will have to pay $7893 per championship point earned. The other teams will pay $6575 per point on top of the $657,837 base F1 entry that all teams pay. Every team will offset these fees with their winnings from the 2023 season.

The 2023 season was one for the record books for Red Bull Racing. The team claimed 21 wins, first in the constructors championship, a 1-2 in the drivers championship and many other feats this season; all while remaining within the cost cap. Their dominance was unrivaled this year and the result in Abu Dhabi did not stray far from the Red Bull 2023 legacy. Max Verstappen secured his record setting 19th win this weekend at Yas Marina during the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

Red Bull Finishes Incredible Season on Top

After an incredible move by Charles Leclerc to briefly get ahead of Max Verstappen in the opening stages of the race. Verstappen got a better drive after the first few corners which was all it took before Verstappen took off ahead. By Lap 8 he had built up a 1.6 second lead ahead of Leclerc. From then on Verstappen wasn’t challenged again. He would hold the lead for the majority of the race aside from pit stop swaps briefly at lap 17. With the win Verstappen set a number of records. The most notable being:

The most laps led in a season at 1003 laps; the first ever to exceed 1000 laps
Most consecutive race wins in a season at 10 wins
Most single season race wins at 19 wins
The most podium finishes at 21
Most Points scored in a single season at 575 points
Winning the championship with the largest margin to P2 at 290 points

“An incredible season,” said Verstappen. “It was a bit emotional on the in lap, the last time I was sitting in the car that has, of course, given me a lot. I’m very proud to win here also at the last race. I have to say a big thank you to Red Bull, it’s just been an incredible year. It will be hard to do something similar again, but we definitely enjoyed this year.”

Christian Horner, Team Principal

“Well that brings the curtain down on a year that can only be described as incredible. This car is going to go down in the history books as a very, very special car. To have won 21 races out of the 22 is an achievement we never thought possible. What a year, not just for those you see week in and week out at track, but more than anything, all the people behind the scenes back in the factory across the whole business. All the support staff made this happen and played their role in making, delivering, and operating this car. I think everybody can take a huge amount of pride in what they’ve achieved, because this Team really does have an incredible winning spirit and their determination through it all is incredibly strong.

Horner Continued

“Adding to this, Max and Checo. An extraordinary Team in themselves. Their hard work and commitment delivered our first ever Pl and P2 finish. Throughout the season Max has been as close to faultless as you can get, every week bettering his last performance, turning in his best year yet. Checo by comparison has equally had his best year and his best finish in the Championship. It was not an easy road for him but he turned it up when he needed to and secured second place. Finally, I would like to thank our partners and fans, who equally played their part in this historic season. Their commitment to the Team has been steadfast throughout the season and we are incredibly grateful for their support.

“We are going to hopefully take all of these lessons out of this car and apply it into our 20th car. It will be another special year for us in our 20th year as we continue to build to try and defend these two titles. Preparation has already began, we will enjoy the break while we have it but look forward to seeing what’s to come in the 2024 season.”

Mercedes Gets the Job Done to Secure 2nd Place

George Russell had an outstanding performance in Abu Dhabi to help lift Mercedes to 2nd place in the constructors championship. Russell secured his second podium of the year which helped Mercedes edge out Ferrari in the championship. Lewis Hamilton also scored points finishing P9 which helped Mercedes finish with a 3 point advantage over Ferrari. The fight for second place came down to the wire. Ferrari teammate Carlos Sainz did not finish the race after a poor race strategy led to a very late pit stop that left Sainz out of scoring position with one lap to go.

Russell Had the Following Words

“Today’s result means a huge amount and I’m really pleased we’ve secured P2 for the team. There are so many people back at the factory in Brackley and Brixworth, who have worked so hard to achieve this. It’s been a really challenging season for us. I’ve let the side down a couple of times this year so I’m pleased to bring it across the line today. It was really intense at the end and so close with Perez, his pace was just great. I thought Charles was going to back me up but respect to him for keeping it clean. I’m happy to end the season this way with a podium.”

McLaren Beats Out Aston Martin to Secure Third

With Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri both finishing ahead of the Aston Martins in Abu Dhabi. McLaren was able to secure third in the constructors championship. It was a season of ups and downs for the McLaren camp. However, the second half of the season proved to be McLaren’s time as both Norris and Piastri came alive in the closing races of the season to score key points finishes putting them in a competitive position coming into this final race at Yas Marina.

Andrea Stella, McLaren Team Principal Stated:

“We would have liked to finish on the podium for the final race of the season, but today we simply didn’t have enough pace. This doesn’t detract from this having been an incredible season. It has been an amazing turnaround which was made possible by everybody’s hard work. To finish fourth in the Championship with nine podiums, achieve a victory in the Sprint race, three more podiums in the Sprint race, two pole positions in the Sprint Shootout, and deliver the fastest pit stop in history is a great achievement for the team. All of this was made possible by the work, commitment, effort and the talent of the men and women at McLaren and our colleagues at HPP. I am so proud and so thankful to all team members.

“This is a strong foundation for the future, and we can’t wait to confirm this next season. Thanks to our fans, sponsors and partners that have been so supportive and enthusiastic. We are on this journey together and we look forward to the next phase.”

Full Abu Dhabi Grand Prix Results

Max Verstappen secured pole position at Yas Marina for the final Formula One race of 2023. After Charles Leclerc dominated the practice sessions Verstappen was able to edge Leclerc out of the top spot by just over a tenth. Verstappen stated the following to F1.com, “We definitely improved the car for qualifying and from the first lap it all seemed a bit more together and we could push more. Of course, I’m very happy to be on pole.

I have no clue how good we are going to be in the race, [but] normally we are always quite decent. It’s been a very special season, we’ve been enjoying it a lot and of course we are very proud of what we have achieved so far this year.” Verstappen will attempt to win his 19th race in 2023 tomorrow the the light go out in Abu Dhabi.

The Battle for 4th

The battle of 4th place in the constructors is heating up. Fernando Alonso and Carlos Sainz are tied in the championship standings. With Sainz being eliminated in Q1 it opened the door for Alonso to improve his starting position to create a hurdle for Sainz to over come if he is to beat out the veteran. The stakes are simple. If Sainz wants to beat Alonso he has to finish ahead of him in the race. With that said the 4th place spot is not only available to Sainz and Alonso. Depending on how the drivers finish there could be a swing in the positions 4th-7th by the end of the race. With no sprint race this weekend we will have to wait until the race to see how it all hashes out.

Likewise in the constructor’s championship the battle for second is up for grabs between Mercedes and Ferrari. Leclerc leads the way for the pack behind so we will see if he can convert this qualifying result to a points finish that can help Ferrari jump ahead of Mercedes. With both Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) and Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) starting outside of the top 10. It will be the last chance to make up ground in the final race of the season to assist int he battle for second place.

Abu Dhabi Qualifying Results

Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) was the leader on day one of practice in Abu Dhabi. Leclerc led Lando Norris and Max Verstappen by just under 2 tenths. The beginning of the session was cut short after Carlos Sainz crashed into the barrier. The incident took about 25 minutes to clear before the session resumed. After the break most of the drivers opted for soft tires to run pre FP3 qualifying pace sessions. However, a second red flag stopped the session again delaying it further ultimately making the session worthless for qualifying pace. With 16 minutes left in the session the drivers would return to the track.

Valtteri Bottas in the Top 5

Valtteri Bottas set a flyer to finish in the top 5 in the session. Bottas had the following words after the session, “It is definitely quite nice to finish both sessions in P4, although it’s quite difficult to say where we really stand at the end of today. We had a couple of unusual sessions today: the first one featuring several rookie drivers, and the second one affected by two red flags in a row – therefore not allowing everyone to get good laps in.

Still, we went through the full program for the day, and the feeling in the car is pretty good, which is promising for the days ahead. Of course, there is still a long way to go, and we need to be at our best for Qualifying and for Sunday’s race as well. Our target for Saturday remains Q3, and if we do our homework right overnight, we have a solid chance of achieving that tomorrow.”

FP3 kicks off tomorrow morning.

Full FP2 Results

With the top three in the drivers championship already solidified coming into the weekend. The battle for 4th is heating up. Currently Carlos Sainz and Fernando Alonso are tied in 4th place with Lando Norris and Charles Leclerc in the hunt. Everything will come down to the Grand Prix. With 26 points up for grabs any between 4th and 7th place heading into the weekend has a shot at improving and finishing in the top 5.

Constructors Points Down to the Wire

Second place in the championship is up for grabs this weekend as Mercedes and Ferrari both have the opportunity to make a move in the standings. Mercedes currently holds the lead at 392 points versus Ferrari’s 388. The two camps have traded success in the most recent races with Mercedes losing out to Ferrari in the last outing in Las Vegas. However, Ferrari will need a repeat of last weekend if they want to take the second spot in the constructors championship. They need to outscore Mercedes to by 15 points or more this weekend to move up into second in the season finale.

In the battle behind McLaren and Aston Martin will battle it out for third and fourth. McLaren currently holds an 11 point lead over Aston Martin. McLaren can improve if they out score Aston by at least 12 points this weekend to move up in the constructors championship.

Abu Dhabi Grand Prix Tire Preview

Yas Marina Grand Prix
58 Laps

Friday, November 24
First practice – 1.30pm to 2.30pm (UAE time); Second practice – 5pm to 6pm
Saturday, November 25
Third practice – 2.30pm to 3.30pm; Qualifying 6pm to 7pm
Sunday, November 26
Race from 5pm

The race can be broadcasted on ESPN.

General Motors announced that they were formally registered with the FIA to become a power unit supplier in F1 for 2028. The announcement came after GM and Andretti publicly have committed to one another for their F1 bid. However, Formula One’s commercial rights holder, Liberty Media is still considering the application. No decision has been made on the commercial bargaining agreement that all 11 teams would share in F1.

The are mixed feelings on the introduction of an 11th team. The most vocal opponent of Andretti’s entry into F1 is Toto Wolff, Team Principal at Mercedes. Wolff offered his remarks on Andretti’s entry into F1, “Well, GM is one of the big players, no doubt,” Wolff said. “And I guess if they say they want to join the sport in ‘28, they’re serious about it, and it’s a good commitment. But, you know, we need to see whether the Commercial Rights Holder deems this to be a good entry or not.

“For many teams (adding an 11th team) is big dilution that can make the difference between, you know, big losses or less losses. And I haven’t changed my opinion on that. We haven’t seen any data, just to say it’s going be awesome. Where’s the case? What are the numbers? How much can we gain in popularity? What’s the name worth? How much more can the sport be attractive? What are the facts? And if those facts are positive, I have no doubt that F1 will consider that in that way.”

Zak Brown Has a More Positive Outlook

Zak Brown, McLaren team principal “A potential entry has to be the right team with the right resources,” he told Motorsport.com. “Let’s assume for a moment it is. If they pay the right franchise fee – which is not US$200 million, let’s say it’s US$700 million – then I get US$70 million.

The dilution of an 11th team is about US$10 million a year. So, if I get US$70 [million], it will be covering me for seven years. Then if it costs US$700 [million] just to enter, it’s created US$700 million more in franchise value. So, whatever I’m worth today, pick a number… US$2 billion, now I’m worth US$2.7 billion.”

Regardless the decision is now out of the hands of the teams. With GM committing to an Andretti partnership. It is hard to believe that one of the most well funded automotive brands in the woudn’t have the funding to make the move happen. However, we still do not have a verdict. We will report back as this story develops. Andretti is looking to enter F1 for the 2025 season.

The Las Vegas Grand Prix started off with the majority of the drivers starting on the medium tires. The track was very dusty especially off of the main racing line. At the start contact between Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) and Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) came together and Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) spun out. A virtual safety car was released which gave those with damage a chance for a cheap pit stop for new wings. The cars were off and Verstappen built up a 1.5 second lead before Lando Norris (McLaren) crashed out of the race. Norris lost the rear heading into turn 14 which resulted in him contacting the wall and sliding off into the crash lane. The car was totaled, and he was not able to continue. Norris was taken to the hospital for precautionary checks.

Verstappen Penalized for Turn 1 Incident

Max Verstappen was handed a 5 second penalty for forcing Leclerc off of the track into turn 1 at the race start. Verstappen struggled for grip into the first turn. The decision came after 7 laps had gone. When notified via the team radio, Verstappen seemed unbothered by the notion responding with “Thanks, send them [referring to the FIA Stewards] my regards”. At that point Verstappen had already build a 2.3 second lead in the race. He was able to pit just before the half way mark and serve the penalty and come out in P9.

Verstappen made contact again this time with George Russell at the half way point resulting in some front wing damage on the Red Bull and possible floor/side damage on Russell’s Mercedes. The incident was investigated by the stewards and George Russell received a 5 second penalty for turning in on Verstappen. The incident brought out a safety car for debris on the track. After the safety car Verstappen began his charge to the front.

Leclerc Regained Lead

After the Safety car came out for the Verstappen-Russell incident a number of pit stops were triggered which allowed Leclerc to regain the lead of the race. Unfortunately for Leclerc, Perez had just pitted for fresh Hard tires which gave him a major grip advantage. By lap 32 Perez got past Leclerc at the end of the long straight into turn 11.

Perez built up a 1.2 second gap one lap later. However, Leclerc took advantage of a late braking mistake after the long straight to get back ahead of Perez. By this point Verstappen had move his way up and passed Leclerc leaving Perez and Leclerc to battle it out for P2. Leclerc unfortunately returned the favor to Perez on lap 44 where he was also late on the brakes, and ran wide allowing Perez to pass him with ease. Leclerc wasn’t done fighting though. On the final lap of the race Leclerc over took Perez at the end of the long straight stealing away P2. Perez’s P3 finish would however clinch 2nd place in the drivers championship for the Mexican.

Aston Martin Secure a Double Point Finish

Despite a spin out on the first lap, Fernando Alonso was able to bring the car home in the points finishing P9. Stroll who had a a very quiet race. However, he was able to bring home a P5 finish due to George Russell not having served his 5 second penalty. Russell effective finished P8. The finish was exactly what Aston Martin needed. The Aston’s took advantage of Norris crashing out to the race in the battle for fourth in the constructors championship. The double points finish brings Aston Martin within 11 points of McLaren.

With the result Red Bull broke the single season win record at 20 wins in Las Vegas while also securing a 1-2 in the Drivers Championship.

Full Las Vegas Grand Prix Results

At the start of the session both Calros Sainz and Lance Stroll were eliminated from being able to secure pole position. Sainz received a 10 place grid penalty due to having to change a power unit after his incident in FP1. Lance Stroll was handed 5 place grid penalty for overtaking under a double yellow flag during practice.

Q1 – Both McLarens Eliminated

Q1 got off to a quick start with the Haas cars heading out first in the session. It wasn’t long before Charles Leclerc topped the table with a flyer setting a 1m33.617s which was soon challenged by Max Verstappen but Verstappen fell short in the first session. A number of drivers had lap times deleted for track limits. 1m34.7XXs was the benchmark for Q2. Both the McLarens failed to make it out of Q1 which was a huge blow to their championship fight with Aston Martin. The McLarens never seemed to fire up their tires and thus fell behind on pace.

Esteban Ocon (Alpine), Yuki Tsunoda (Alpha Tauri) and Zhou Guanyu (Alpha Romeo) were eliminated from the session along with the McLarens. Perez was suspected to be under investigation for impeding. However, no official action was issued by the stewards at this point. Lance Stroll was summoned for failing to slow under a yellow flag.

Q2 – Perez and Hamilton Fail to Progress

In Q2 the lap times started to drop dramatically. The Haas’ looked good early on in the session again. However, they were not able to improve on Q1 times. It was noted that the rate of rubbering in on the track was slower than normal which was likely an artifact of the cool track temperatures. Track temperatures at the start of the session were around 60 degrees Fahrenheit; 4 degrees lower than in FP3.

Charles Leclerc was the first to dip into the 1m32s, setting a 1m32.834s. Sainz followed a half second behind Leclerc with Russell running in third. Surprisingly Sergio Perez made the decision to pit with 2 minutes to go which ultimately left him vulnerable in P6 as the lap times began to fall. By the end of the session Perez was below the cut off and failed to make it to Q3. Lewis Hamilton also suffered the same fate after failing to get a clean lap in the 1m32s range.

Sergio Perez, Lewis Hamilton, Lance Stroll, Daniel Ricciardo and Nico Hulkenberg were eliminated from the session. Stroll will effectively start from P19 after his grid penalty is added to his finish. He may face further action depending on if the stewards hand down another punishment his failure to slow under a yellow in Q1. Both Williams cars made it into Q3 which will put them in possible point scoring territory come Saturday.

Q3 – Leclerc Secures Pole

The Ferraris made it clear in Q3 that they brought the best package this weekend. Charles Leclerc topped the table once again as the driver went out for their opening laps. With 3 minutes to go the top three were separated by less than 1 tenth of a second. By 1 and a half minutes the Williams cars both had not yet set a lap time. Essentially the Williams cars had one lap to determine their starting grid position. Alex Albon and Logan Sargeant secured P6 and P7 in the session.

Charles Leclerc’s pace remained unanswered and he secured pole position after setting a 1m32.726s lap. His teammate Carlos Sainz finished the session P2, but with his grid penalty will drop him out of the top 10. Max Verstappen will inherit P2 due to the Sainz penalty handing him a front row start. George Russell will move up to P3 with the rest of the grid shifting up one position up to 12th where Carlos Sainz will start the race barring any potential penalties from the stewards that have yet to be announced.

Preliminary Qualifying Results are Below

FP3 was a success in Las Vegas with all of the driver able to set times. The session was red flagged in the closed minutes as Alex Albon (Williams) made contact with the wall and stripped the tire off of his rear left wheel. Albon was able to nurse the car back to the pits. Albon got on the brakes too deep which sacrificed his exit line and he ran out of room to straighten out the car; resulting in the collision.

George Russell (Mercedes) topped the table for the first time this weekend. Russell got a nice slipstream on his final flying lap which allowed him to pull ahead of Oscar Piastri (McLaren) who finished P2 by 4 tenths of a second. In surprising fashion Logan Sargeant in the Williams ran third fastest; a half a second off of the fastest lap. If this result is any indication of his qualifying pace it might be Sargeant’s best qualifying weekend of the season. Qualifying is three hours away so we will see if Sargeant can keep up the pace when everything is on the line.

Verstappen and Perez Miss Out Due to Traffic

Both Max Verstappen and Perez set fastest Sector 1 and 2 times but as they both headed into sector 3 there was an incident where Daniel Ricciardo had run off of the track and Max Verstappen had to abort into the safety lane. He wouldn’t get a chance to set another lap due to the timing of the red flag. Perez was also on a flyer, but also had to abort his lap after catching a bit of bad air rattling the stability of his car in middle of sector 2.

Every single car on the track ran soft tires in the closing minutes of FP3. Given the track temperatures at night in Las Vegas it was safe to say that no one would be on the hard tire this weekend in FP3. The track was at 64 degrees Fahrenheit during FP3 and that temperature is expected to drop come qualifying time which starts at midnight local time.

In the battle for second place in the championship Perez finished one tenth faster than Hamilton who struggled early in the session opting for the mediums, but soon cut tenths off his lap times as he switched to the soft tires. Qualifying for Hamilton will be extremely important because Perez can clinch second place in the championship this weekend. If Perez holds a 26 or more point lead after the Las Vegas Grand Prix, Hamilton will not be able to mathematically catch Perez.

Qualifying will take place at midnight local time.

Full FP3 Results are Below