The Williams rookie set the same time as Lando Norris in Q1, but because the McLaren driver logged it first he progressed through, while Sargeant was left in 16th and eliminated.
However, in the race the American put in a solid drive to 12th at the flag, and he was one of several drivers to benefit from an extra set of fresh tyres in the last part of the race after Charles Leclerc triggered a VSC.
Sargeant acknowledged that it has been a good weekend but that failing to make Q2 when he had to car to do so was frustrating.
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“Qualifying is always my favourite,” he said. “I would have loved to have made it to Q2, to keep pushing on a bit.
“But to be honest, I loved the race. I honestly loved every second of it, the on-track battles. But probably the start and the first lap were special.
“I just looked for the gaps and tried to fill them! I didn't ask for too much, but it just fell in my way. I really enjoyed it, and it was it was super fun.”
Asked if he could have wanted any more from his debut, he said: “You don't want to get too greedy. It's been a great weekend.
“I'm very, very happy with the way it went, I'm very happy with the pace we've had.
“Am I a little disappointed to have missed Q2? Yes, because I know the car was capable of making it. As a driver that's never the nicest feeling.
“But to be honest, that fuelled me, that gave me more motivation, and I want to come back and be better next time.”
Sargeant said that Bahrain felt like a normal event but he acknowledged that prior to the start the reality of making his F1 debut hit home.
“I think before the formation lap, it was a little extra,” he said. “But to be honest, I felt like once I got into the race, once I got into the rhythm, it all felt very natural.
“I don't think they expected this much tyre deg coming into the year, and it almost felt a little bit like F2 so in terms of deg, so that sort of felt like I was just carrying over what I did last year, and trying to protect the rears and maintain pace.
“I feel like everything operationally from race start to pitstops, VSC and everything, everything went smoothly. I’m really happy with the pace that me and Alex [Albon] had today.
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“I think the team has done an amazing job all weekend just unlocking that pace. We probably didn't expect where we were now compared to the test, and that's just a massive testament to the work that the team has done, and I'm super proud of everyone.”
Sargeant conceded that he still has much to learn as his debut season progresses.
“I learned a lot, I've shown myself that I am capable to race against these guys at a high level, and that's massively positive," he added.
“But I still expect difficulties along the way. I know how difficult it is to keep performing at that level, especially going to a few tracks now that I don't know very well.
“So it's going be important to keep prepping, we'll keep working hard, and keep on that upward trajectory.
“For myself, there's definitely more to come. I still have a lot to learn for sure. The team did an amazing job guiding me through the weekend, helping me operationally.
“They did try not to put too much on my plate, and just let me focus on the driving, which is what I needed. There's a lot to learn on that side, but not to mention I still need to keep working on my driving and adapting to this car. And just maximising the performance of it.”
He also acknowledged that the upcoming run of street or temporary tracks won’t be easy for rookies.
“I think even coming from Jeddah last year in F2, it wasn't the easiest of rounds for me,” he said.
"Hopefully we can use the FPs to really build into the weekend, not overstretch and lose confidence. I think if we do that we can be ready for qualifying and a good weekend.”
