Sebastian Vettel‘s retirement announcement started a chain reaction that led to quite an entertaining driver market for the 2023 season. Oscar Piastri was at the center of all of it with the Alpine contract saga. Nonetheless, the Australian, with his performances, showed us why he was valued so highly by Alpine. However, now James Vowles has come out and revealed Piastri’s Alpine privileges as Logan Sargeant’s F1 seat was put under question. But what was the privilege about?

Oscar Piastri started the 2023 season with the Papaya Team after his contract dispute was finally settled as Alpine lost the case. And while the start of the season wasn’t impressive, as soon as McLaren brought the much-awaited upgrades, Piastri showed everyone what he was made of. The rookie was constantly right up there with Lando Norris in qualifying and in races as well. The only thing that he lacked in comparison to Norris was the skill of looking after his tires. 

Logan Sargeant, on the other hand, had quite an underwhelming rookie season. Despite an impressive debut GP, the whole season was plagued with small errors that cost the American big time. As a result, come the end of the season, Sargeant’s F1 future isn’t secure. However, eventually, James Vowles and Co. decided to give the American another chance and signed him for 2024. As Sargeant’s contract was renewed, James Vowles was recently asked about why Williams signed the American for 2024 despite all the errors that he made in 2023.

James Vowles decided not only to answer on Sargeant’s performance but also on why Oscar Piastri excelled in 2023. According to AMuS, James Vowles said, “You have to rate the Logan of the last races. As a rookie, he had to learn a lot. The framework conditions have changed. Even in the recent past. Piastri was allowed to spool 11,000 test kilometers in an old Formula 1 car before his debut. In the previous generation, it was 20,000 kilometers.”

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He continued, “Logan had only 800. This is not easy to digest. But since Suzuka, he didn’t miss much on Alex. He has progressed race after race. Relative to himself and also to Alex. He has reduced the error rate. And he does what we ask him to do. Sometimes you have to give people a chance.” And not only Sargeant, Vowles was full of praise for his other driver as well. 

“No Doubt About That”: James Vowles hails Alex Albon’s 2023 campaign 

Alex Albon’s F2 career didn’t really get the flying start that many expected from the former Red Bull Driver. The stint with Red Bull with Max Verstappen by his side was probably Albon’s lowest point in F1. However, the Williams driver didn’t give up and has only gone from strength to strength in the last couple of years. As a result, he’s become one of the most desired drivers on the grid with many big teams eyeing him. 

According to Motorsport.com, James Vowles said, “He’s [Alex Albon] really quick, he has the right mindset – and that’s really important, not just for him but for any driver to get the most out of themselves. I think if you look at him across the year, and even speak to him openly and candidly, he’s not the same driver that I started with in Bahrain. He has really matured across the season and he got the most out of the car. There is no doubt about that.”

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Watch this Story: Is Oscar Piastri Already Justifying His Talent By Performing Better Than Daniel Ricciardo at McLaren?