Logan Sargeant might have concluded his Formula 1 journey at Suzuka.
While financially well-supported Felipe Drugovich, Mick Schumacher, and Red Bull-endorsed Liam Lawson are all making noise for a seat, Williams seemed committed to providing its American rookie another opportunity in 2024.
This is the last available slot for the next year’s grid, and Sargeant is in prime position, simply tasked by team principal James Vowles to keep weekends clean and show improvement.
He then suffered a major crash at Suzuka during qualifying while exiting the chicane.
“It’s difficult,” said the 22-year-old. “On the one hand you want to be aggressive, on the other you don’t want to make any mistakes.
“I’m not trying to put the car in the wall. I can’t say anything else. I’m trying to do my best,” he told Viaplay.
“The difficult part is that I know I have the speed, but these small errors are creating big problems for me.
“Honestly, I don’t have the energy now to think about my future. All I care about is doing my best every time.”
Former F1 pilot Timo Glock spoke on Sky Deutschland: “I’m curious to see what James Vowles does next. He’s always been standing behind him and saying we have to give Logan time.
“But now so many errors are accumulating that it’s impacting the team financially. You can even see it on the mechanics’ faces.
“The issue is whether he remains a viable choice for the team. In my view, Williams has plenty of other options,” Glock continued.
Ralf Schumacher also weighed in on Sargeant: “Sorry, but he’s in the wrong series. You shouldn’t be making mistakes like this in Formula 1.
“He’s overwhelmed. He tries to force it but it doesn’t work that way in F1.”
It’s suggested that Mercedes chief Toto Wolff tried to convince Vowles that Schumacher is Williams’ best choice for 2024 by sharing Mick’s simulation data with his former Mercedes colleague.
Vowles apparently was not moved, and Red Bull’s Christian Horner also thinks the Williams chief “will not want to sign Liam (Lawson) for just one year”.
“A lot to consider,” Horner added, “as he has done everything he needed to justify a permanent seat. But we only have two seats per team.”
The likelihood is that Lawson will simply remain on the backup list throughout 2024, hoping for a bigger step in 2025.
“Daniel Ricciardo wants to go back to Red Bull – that’s his aim,” said Dr Helmut Marko. “To achieve that, he needs to put in the performances.
“But Daniel and also Sergio (Perez) are already over 30. We also have to think about what’s next.”
