What Happened To Logan Sargeant?

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What Is Behind Logan Sargeant’s Sudden Sacking?

In the last couple of days the Formula 1 world has learnt of the shocking but expected call by Williams to sack American driver Logan Sargeant. For many people, this call is long overdue, with many expecting it to happen through the summer break at the latest. Nevertheless, James Vowles has made what could be considered his biggest call in his time as the Williams team principal. As the pinnacle of motorsports F1 teams need to be more cutthroat in their driver calls, so I am happy that Williams have stepped up as the team who won’t put up with underperforming drivers.

In the lead-up to his F1 career, Logan Sargeant enjoyed a junior career of mostly positive results, including multiple podiums, poles, and race wins. He also beat some notable drivers over the course of a season including defeating Jack Doohan and Liam Lawson in the 2019 F3 season and Doohan again in the 2022 F2 season. 

Despite this relatively successful career up until F1 he could not fully rise to the challenge of F1 in the end. This is an issue that unfortunately plagues many young drivers in the modern era of F1, along with drivers who swap teams. Why is this? And was this Logan Sargeant’s ultimate demise? Let us take a look below.

HOW DID LOGAN SARGEANT END UP HERE?

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In 2023 Logan Sargeant entered F1 as the season’s only rookie driver, putting all eyes on him and his performances. The Williams F1 team are still rebuilding itself after one of the team’s least competitive stretches, which ultimately ended with the Williams family selling the team in 2020. This allowed F1’s American infiltration to continue with US-based private equity firm Dorilton Capital taking full ownership of the team. Keen to establish the team as front runners once more, they set in motion a hiring spree and update of the team’s antiquated processes. Their plan also included highlighting the talent of American drivers, and this is when Logan Sargeant enters the picture. 

Up until this point Sargeant was the top US talent in Europe, and also amongst the very best in Europe. To Dorilton Capital it was the perfect fit to have the kid from Florida hop into the car for the 2023 F1 season. Like a job promotion, the rise to F1 from F2 means the driver needs to take a considerable step up in every single aspect of what they do. I believe this is exactly what Logan Sargeant did not do, as in the end he was clearly not up to the task. No matter how good you are in the lower categories, you have to dig deep and find that little bit extra both on, but mostly off the track.

WHY SOME YOUNG DRIVERS STRUGGLE?

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In the last 5 years or so we have seen a huge new wave of talent come into F1. Basically all of these drivers have come through the F3 and F2 series that races on the same weekends as F1 across the world. While they all share a similar pathway to the top, we have seen mixed results across all of the drivers with Oscar Piastri being amongst the best, and Logan Sargeant being amongst the worst.

This trend is no coincidence as F1 no longer allows unlimited testing (practice) days. Now for those of you who know your F1 history you’ll likely think “yeah but that rule changed in 2009, so what does it have to do with now?”. While it is true that this rule changed in 2009 its full effects have taken a while to come through.

Prior to 2009 testing was only limited by the teams budgets. In other words they could test their cars as much as they liked either before, during, or after the season is complete. They could also conduct this testing with their current racing car, a huge difference to todays regulations that only permit 300km of running on irrelevant tyres.

Now why could a rule change from 15 years ago still be having an effect today? Because in around 2017-2018 we finally saw the tipping point where the majority of the grid joined F1 after this rule change. This means that those drivers had no exposure to the unrestricted testing allowed through the late 2000s. This also coincided with F1 going in the direction of bigger, wider cars, something that F2 and F3 drivers of the time were not used to. This style of car when compared to the older cars are much harder to get a handle on, as they cannot just be thrown around the track like smaller cars can. 

So, this combined with limited testing time means that new drivers to F1 are faced with as little as three days practice in a current car to prepare for their jump up to F1. This also is why when some drivers change teams it is extremely difficult to adapt to the specifics of that teams car. Imagine a football team having just three days of on field training prior to a new season.

HAVE WILLIAMS MADE THE RIGHT CALL?

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Over the last few years we have seen some lacklustre performances from quite a few drivers on the grid with large discrepancies between teammates. Many of these drivers have been given there chance to hang around, which detracts from F1s perceived cutthroat nature. This is why that the call from Williams is a refreshing change to the risk averse approach many team principals are currently taking. 

This is exactly why Williams are definitely making there right call on sacking Logan Sargeant, and giving 21 year old F2 driver Franco Colapinto a run in their car. The move by the team shows the rest of the grid that they’re not messing around, while also showing young drivers that their doors are open to fresh talent. He is also part of Williams young driver program so it is great to see them putting their faith behind a young driver from their program.

I believe Williams are making the best possible choice by putting their faith behind a promising young driver from their program. Also with the promotion of Jack Doohan to the Alpine team 2025 is shaping up to be a showcase of some great young talent for F1. If the field continues getting closer and closer then 2025 will be one of the best seasons in a long time.