Being the first American to score points since Michael Andretti in the 1993 Italian Grand Prix, the young rookie sure did his best with what he had. Although I’m happy to see new talent entering the grid it seems pointless to replace a much more experienced driver with the likes of someone such as Franco Colapinto (who has yet to prove himself in F2 never mind F1). Although, I will say that he has surprisingly secured a few points for Williams thus far.
There’s been a lot of speculation over the team’s reasoning for replacing the ‘inexperienced rookie’ with yet another inexperienced rookie. Mainly because Colapinto will only keep his newly gained seat for a handful of races. However, the answers to our questions are mostly unknown.
Williams released a statement confirming that the switch was to ‘maximise points’; however, it’s an undoubtedly risky move and I personally don’t buy it. Colapinto is no exception to the mistakes we have seen Sargeant consistently make the past year – with an early crash in Baku during FP1.
It’s almost unfair not to let Sargeant compete in his final few races before being replaced by Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz next season. Not only is it insulting to put an exceptional driver like Sainz in blue but it doesn’t make sense to drop Logan at all.
Though it was kind of expected and he wasn’t the best driver on the grid by any means, you can’t help but feel bad for the American. In multiple interviews Logan has mentioned feeling like an outcast despite arriving as a rookie alongside his friend, Oscar Piastri. We’ve seen him have multiple delayed car upgrades and having to sit out of races in favour of his teammate (for example the Australian GP). He then went on to use Albon’s damaged chassis for the next race regardless of the fact he wasn’t at fault. To now be replaced before the season’s end it is blindly obvious that throughout his Williams career he has not been the favourite driver. He never had a chance compared to his teammate Alex Albon.
You can not call it ‘underperforming’ when you put a rookie in an awful Williams car. Logan went from being the best in F2 (in his season) to one of the ‘worst’ on the grid. Yet can you really expect him to compete with someone in a RedBull when he doesn’t even have the support of his own team?
In fact, team principles tend to do this a lot in F1. We only have to look at the mistreatment of Daniel Riccardo during his time at Mclaren (and now being similarly axed by RB) to understand that this vicious cycle of building drivers up to then wear them down to nothing is an inevitable in this world of sport. Well unless of course you’re Max Verstappen. Thus, a lot of talent is wasted.
What stood out to me the most about this whole situation was Williams’ decision to post on social media the welcoming of Colpinto before revealing that Logan had been dropped. Whilst also sharing their thanks to non-Williams driver Riccardo after his departure was announced. It’s at the very least disrespectful to not give Logan a proper goodbye before immediately embracing their newest addition with glee.
I hope the rumours of his move to IndyCar (the American open-wheel racing series) are true and he can finally prove himself and get the recognition he deserves. With Prema debuting its IndyCar team in 2025, Sargeant has a good chance at being back in a single-seater in the American racing series. Having previously raced for the team in F3 his return seems likely.