Williams showing ‘Helmut ‘Mr. Motivator’ Marko’ how to handle rookie drivers

Michelle Foster 14 Jul 2023 11:15 AM

Logan Sargeant speaking with Nyck de Vries. Bahrain February 2023

As Logan Sargeant closed in on his first F1 points while Nyck de Vries once again brought up the rear of the field, Ted Kravitz says the two rookies’ results at Silverstone showed the difference between Williams and Red Bull.

Sargeant and De Vries are two of three rookies on this year’s grid, or at least were with De Vries handed his marching papers by Red Bull in the wake of the British Grand Prix.

Failing to impress as he made his full-time debut with Red Bull’s junior team AlphaTauri, it was evident after race four of the season, the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, that De Vries was on borrowed time with Helmut Marko declaring he’s on a “yellow card” after a crash-strewn race weekend.

Williams offer ‘motivation and security’

In the following weeks he’d go on to give various deadlines for deciding De Vries’ fate, none of those helping the driver, who eventually lost his race-seat after the British Grand Prix with his exit hastened by “impressive” times from Daniel Ricciardo in a Red Bull test.

De Vries’ demise, and more to the point the attitude of his bosses towards him in the build-up to it, is in sharp contrast to Williams’ handling of their rookie, Sargeant.

Although he too has yet to score a point in Formula 1, his team boss James Vowles has talked him up while also quashing any suggestions of the American being replaced when it was put to him that Mick Schumacher was available.

Kravitz says that “motivation and security” makes all the difference.

Speaking on the latest Sky F1 podcast, the pit lane reporter said: “Yes, Logan Sargent does need to start scoring some points but this weekend for the first time I really heard James Vowles come out and say, ‘Logan is doing what we want him to do. He’s developing as a as a nice little racing driver here. And we think, you know, we’ve got a good one, and he was going to start scoring some points’.

“And at least Williams are giving him that motivation and security, which is more than you can say, for Helmut ‘Mr. Motivator’ Marko and what he wanted Nyck de Vries to do, the other guy who hasn’t scored any points.

“So James Vowles is going about it the right way. Logan Sargent had his best weekend in Formula One so far with a P11 and I guess it’s only a matter of time before Logan scores points.”

The Briton went on to speak about Alex Albon, Williams’ star driver who bagged an impressive P8 at the British Grand Prix having featured inside the top-three in all three practice sessions.

“As for Alex Albon, I think he’ll stay where he is,” Kravitz said. “And he had a great weekend, another great weekend. And he’s happy doing it.”

His fellow Sky Sports pundit Martin Brundle reckons Albon’s performances this season show the difference it makes when a driver feels secure within his team.

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“Another standout all weekend was Alex Albon for Williams who is driving so well lately in a much-improved car,” he wrote in his latest column forSky F1.

“I know all too well how brutal Formula 1 is, or indeed I imagine any top-level sport, but if you make a driver feel comfortable and valued and not having to be looking over their shoulder all day long, then they will driver faster for longer.”

Last season Albon, who was dropped by Red Bull at the end of the 2020 season and demoted to a test driver role before signing with Williams for 2022, signed his first-ever multi-year contract in Formula 1. He’s committed to Williams through to the end of 2025.