Can Fernando Alonso Fanboy, Felipe Drugovich Replace Struggling Logan Sargeant at Williams?

It is widely advised to ‘never meet your heroes.’ While Fernando Alonso is no hero for Felipe Drugovich, he indeed is someone that the Brazilian looks up to as he continues his role as a reserve driver at Aston Martin. Nonetheless, being a reserve driver for an F1 team isn’t what a competitive driver dreams of. Amid Logan Sargeant’s recent troubles, Felipe Drugovich’s links to Williams have come up. Will Felipe Drugovich become the reason behind Logan Sargeant’s only season in F1? 

Being a rookie in F1 is no easy feat. After all, one has to rise to the occasion to become one of the top 20 drivers in the world. Adding to this is the pressure of competing with the likes of Lewis Hamilton, Max Verstappen, and Fernando Alonso. However, the bare minimum expected from a rookie driver is to stay close to the pace of his teammate, as having the same machinery makes him a perfect benchmark. 

Logan Sargeant’s season, however, hasn’t panned out to be the dream F1 debut season that the American dreamed about. While Oscar Piastri has impressed everyone with his pace and skills, Sergeant has been near the bottom of the performance spectrum. But why is it so? What has Logan Sargeant’s season been like?

Struggling Logan Sargeant’s 2023 season

Many eyebrows were raised when Williams decided to sign Logan Sargeant as their second driver after Nicholas Latifi’s exit from Williams. While he’s a product of the Williams Academy, his average result in the 2022 F1 season raised suspicions about his capabilities. The American, however, smashed all the doubts at the season opener in Bahrain where he finished P12.

However, since the magic of the season opener, it’s only been a downward curve for Sergeant. Williams’ entire season has been about Alex Albon and his amazing performances. Even at tracks where the Williams wasn’t expected to perform well. Logan Sargeant, on the other hand, hasn’t been able to find the rhythm and the pace that he did at the season opener and has been in Alex Albon’s shadow. Making matters worse is the fact that Logan Sargeant hasn’t been the cleanest of the drivers either. 

The American has crashed time and time again. It all started in Jeddah during the second race of the season where Sargeant spun around during the crucial final lap to get out of Q1. Crashes at the Australian GP, Spanish GP, Azerbaijan GP, and many other races followed it. Even in the last couple of GPs, Singapore and Japan, Sargeant has had a massive shunt. In this cost-cap era of F1, every crash means resources need to be taken out of the development budget. But why is Felipe Drugovich presenting to be a strong candidate?

How has Felipe Drugovich proved himself at Aston Martin?

Felipe Drugovich and Logan Sargeant went toe to toe during last year’s Formula 2 season. While Logan Sargeant only managed only score 148 points and finished P4 in the championship, Felipe Drugovich was crowned as the champion finishing a massive 117 points ahead of Sergeant with 265 points. As a result, Aston Martin signed him as a reserve driver in September 2022.

After Lance Stroll suffered multiple fractures before the start of the preseason testing, Felipe Drugovich stepped up and performed his duties to help Aston Martin with the data. And recently at the Italian GP, Felipe Drugovich was seen again in the AMR23 during the FP1 session. While the results are nothing to write home about, Drugovich has shown consistency and the ability to keep up with the other drivers. 

Read More: Can Liam Lawson Replace Logan Sargeant at Williams in 2024?

And it’s not only the track time. The majority of the roles played by the reserve drivers happen behind the scenes in the simulator. Drugovich has been in the simulator since last September and has helped Aston Martin massively by giving the data that the engineers can use to further develop the car. The whole Aston Martin team, including Mike Krack, has nothing but praise for the Brazilian prodigy. But how likely is it that Felipe Drugovich will replace Logan Sargeant?

Will Willaims replace Logan Sargeant with Felipe Drugovich?

Logan Sargeant doesn’t have much time left on his hands with only a handful of races to solidify his position with the team. After AlphaTauri confirmed their lineup for 2024, many speculations were made about Liam Lawson joining Williams. However, recent comments by Lawson have ruled out that possibility. Felipe Drugovich does present as a very strong candidate to replace Logan Sargeant.

While James Vowles has always been in support of Sergeant, it doesn’t mean that he’s not looking around for alternatives. Reports suggest that Williams is considering Felipe Drugovich for next year. The Aston Martin reserve driver also brings in a boatload of sponsors and a huge Brazilian fanbase. But the ball is still in Logan Sargeant’s court. If the American can prove his mettle before the season ends, it’s almost certain that he will continue with Williams. If not, Felipe Drugovich’s dream to race against Fernando Alonso might become a reality. 

Watch this Story: Is Lance Stroll Holding Back Aston Martin F1?

Do you think Williams will replace Logan Sargeant? Does Felipe Drugovich have a chance?

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