American Driver Logan Sargeant’s 2023 F1 Move Was Not The Original Plan

Many drivers were touted to bag the outgoing Nicholas Latifi’s spot. Williams had been working on a loan deal to field Oscar Piastri for a year before the Alpine-McLaren fiasco. Their next choice was Mercedes reserve driver Nyck de Vries, who had performed phenomenally. But he eventually ended up going to AlphaTauri. Bringing in their Plan C, the team decided to promote their own junior, Logan Sargeant.

Sargeant was an option, having a great season in Formula 2. Also, from the sponsorship and marketing perspective, an American with a well-to-do family was a reasonable choice. However, Sargeant’s promotion to the team was not the initial plan at all. The team wanted him to spend at least another year learning in F2. But his laudable performance impressed the team, and they promoted him to Formula 1.

Williams sporting director, Sven Smeets told Motorsport.com, “We had a two-year plan with Logan in F2. I think that’s how everybody starts. When the season started, very quickly and especially Silverstone and the races after that, we started to see the potential that we maybe didn’t have to do two seasons with him in F2.”

He further added, “We didn’t say to him ‘you need to win F2 or you need to be second’, it was just his progression in F2, the raw speed he has shown in one lap, and himself maturing. It was also how he develops here in the sim sessions, doing his physical camps we have for them, doing the media training. All that was starting to go in a direction that, by summertime, we saw him as becoming one of our contenders.”

Read More: Is America’s Breakthrough F1 Star Logan Sargeant A Pay Driver?

The sacred super license points came at the end of the season for Sargeant. He is to become the second driver of the iconic British outfit for the 2023 lineup. Alex Albon, who recently signed a multiyear deal with the traditional British outfit, will lead the American rookie.

Alex Albon led Williams even in his debut year

After staying away from the grid for a year, Albon was signed by Williams for 2022. He had much to prove, and he did. He finished in points on three different occasions and constantly outperformed Nicholas Latifi.

Talking at the Autosport Awards, The Williams ex-boss, Jost Capito told Mirror Sport, “He had the lead this year, and he really grew in that role. He is very familiar with the team now. The team supports him and now is the right time to take a rookie on and give Logan a learning year in ’23”.

With mental security in terms of the deal, Albon now wishes to take his team to the former glory days along with their recruit.

Watch This Story: American Drivers to Win an F1 race

The team’s decision to field Logan Sargeant will be tested very soon. What are your thoughts on the debuting American?