We recall Logan’s sensational Formula 2 drive in Austria…
28 Jun 2024
3 min read
The Austrian Grand Prix is almost upon us — and Logan will have fond memories of racing in Spielberg.
He enjoyed a drive to remember back in 2022, defying the odds to secure first place in Austria’s Formula 2 race that year.
Then with Carlin, the Florida native had to navigate treacherous conditions, after heavy rain had fallen earlier that morning.
Matt Ogle, Logan’s race engineer at the time, discussed the team’s strategy to cope with the downpour:
“We watched the F3 race live in the truck [earlier in the day] and were taking notes about what lines some of the quick drivers were using – having a look at kerb usage and that sort of stuff,” he said.
“Also, we had a full wet race in 2020 with Yuki [Tsunoda] and Jehan [Daruvala]. Yuki, in particular, was really fast, so we had all of his data.
“We just looked at all the info we had, which was quite a lot, and made sure we were ready for the wet.”
The crucial decision to start on wet tyres was made and — though successful in the early stages — it became apparent by lap six that a change to dry tyres was needed.
Logan was called in to pit after dropping from P4 to P15, initially to his displeasure:
“I'd be lying if I said I wasn't extremely angry," he revealed after the race.
“Obviously, it's not a nice feeling when everyone is driving past you, and you're dropping to the back of the grid.”
But that call, combined with the remarkable speed of Carlin’s tyre change, proved to be pivotal, as Matt explained:
"I think with the track conditions being cooler because of the rain, the track was a little bit green,” he said.
"Because we'd spent longer on the warm tyres, the drivers who were coming out of the pits, we were pretty much just driving around them until their tyres got up to temperature."
That extra heat saw Logan progress through the field, climbing back up to fourth — an improvement that even he was surprised by:
"About midway through the race, I asked where we were, and they said P4. I was pretty shocked,” he said.
"To gain that amount of positions was pretty insane to me, but that's just a testament to how quick we were."
Better was yet to come, however.
A five-second time penalty for the second-placed driver saw Logan move into third place when he crossed the finish line, to confirm a podium finish.
Further penalties were then handed down to the race’s top two finishers in the hours that followed, moving Logan up into first place by the weekend’s conclusion.
Reflecting on a job well done, he said:
“Big thank you to the Carlin crew for giving me a great car and doing a great job the whole weekend.
“We started off the weekend with a really good qualifying and put ourselves in a great position to fight for good points. We did that on Sunday when we crawled our way back up the order.”
Logan will be hoping for similar success when the 2024 Austrian Grand Prix gets under way later this week.
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