But Sargeant insisted off-record he had no idea, and when I put it all to Vowles he laughed that some media had been contacting the team saying they heard an announcement was due on certain days, yet he hadn’t made a decision himself yet.
It all added to the pressure that Sargeant was under, because it genuinely could well have been his last Formula 1 weekend and he appeared to crack on Saturday when he twice exceeded track limits at Turn 1. Once was hardly a disaster, but to do it at the same corner on the second run — that was comfortably good enough for Q2 — was immensely frustrating.
The race performance was solid if unspectacular, largely matching what Alex Albon achieved as Williams tailored his strategy to defend against Daniel Ricciardo and try to help the team retain seventh place in the constructors’ championship. That goal was achieved, and it was another solid race drive, so he’s now confident he’s given himself a good chance of keeping his seat.
It does feel like it would be a surprise if another driver was named alongside Albon in the next few weeks, but an announcement should come relatively soon either way.
Trainers on the move
Verstappen and Scanes aren’t the only driver-trainer pairing which will part ways in 2024
Red Bull
The driver market was hardly thrilling this season, with only the above situation surrounding Logan Sargeant still to be decided over the final few months of the year. But that doesn’t mean there wasn’t plenty going on alongside them.
As is quite often the case when people within F1 have personal news, it only actually comes out at the final race of the season, either because it’s only just been finalised or it just hasn’t been communicated to team members until that stage. So there were three notable switches that came to light in Abu Dhabi.
In almost a football-style transfer, the decision for Max Verstappen’s trainer Bradley Scanes to leave meant there was a vacancy alongside the three-time world champion, and he poached a talent from a rival team. Carlos Sainz’s performance coach Rupert Manwaring will make the switch to Red Bull, leaving Sainz now needing to find a new member of his set-up.
The other one was a departure, as Yuki Tsunoda’s performance coach Michael Italiano — who formerly worked with Daniel Ricciardo — is leaving F1 to go and work with the Royals Sports Group, heading up the sports science division of the company that owns three cricket franchises in India, Barbados and South Africa.
Illnesses everywhere
“I was coughing about three times per lap” — George Russell raced through illness in Abu Dhabi
Getty Images
Last week’s diary mentioned how the schedule at Las Vegas will need to change in future years, and if it wasn’t clear at the time it certainly was with the amount of illnesses in the Abu Dhabi paddock.
