Sargeant's Future In F1 Uncertain As His Team Principal James Vowles Can't Confirm Him

F1
Thursday, 30 November 2023 at 02:00
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The future of Logan Sargeant in Formula One remains uncertain as his team principal won't confirm his contract renewal.
Logan Sargeant finished the last race of his rookie season in Abu Dhabi, and as of now, he is the only driver on the F1 grid without a contract for the 2024 season.
While the American driver showed multiple great performances, he was terribly outperformed by his teammate Alex Albon and ended 21st in the Drivers' Championship.
The problem for Sargeant is that there are countless very talented drivers waiting for a seat in F1, and if a rookie can't show his talent in the first season, he rarely gets another chance.
Nyck De Vries can attest to the cruel nature of F1, as he only got half of the 2023 season before AlphaTauri replaced him with Daniel Ricciardo.
Asked whether we will see the 22-year-old driver in Williams in season 2024, Williams team principal James Vowles told F1TV:
“"I'm afraid you're getting ahead of yourself, but whatever happens, Logan has been part of our academy for many, many years."”
Sargeant wasn't lucky enough to have as fast a car as another rookie on the F1 grid in 2024 Oscar Piastri who drives for McLaren. Vowles thinks Sargeant stepped up, especially during the last five races of the season.
“"He always will remain a part of our academy, he is still an excellently quick driver, but I think if we look at the last five races, he has been improving and stepping forward."”
Nevertheless, the cruel truth is that Sargeant only scored one of William's 28 points and has been out-qualified 22-0 by his teammate, who showed their car could achieve points on multiple occasions.
The seat in the Williams is quite attractive for drivers like Frederik Vesti or two F2 World Champions, Felipe Drugovich and Theo Pourchaire, who are waiting for anybody to give them their first chance in F1. The team principal concluded by saying he is not in a position to confirm Sargeant for next season:
“"There are signs he is doing what we need to earn the seat, but I am not in a position to confirm that. The main thing I wanted him to be aware of is that I'm proud of the steps he's taken across this year and we have a lot of time across the winter."”