This has been a busy season for the Formula One world, but especially for Williams Racing. In recent news, American Formula One driver Logan Sargeant has been released from the Williams Racing team. He joined the team in 2023 and was the first American F1 driver in almost eight years.
Sargeant began racing at just 8 years old in karting and eventually made his way to Formula Four. He competed in F4 from 2016 to 2017 and moved up to F3 for the 2018 season where he raced for three years. He only competed for one year in F2, which many believe was too short of a time, before moving to F1. Throughout his past two F1 seasons, Sargeant has simply under-delivered and has not seemed to make any improvement since entering F1. He leaves Formula One, having received only one point out of all 36 races he competed in for Williams. This season, his best finish was 11th place, which was not good enough for Williams, especially after they made it clear he needed to achieve the performance goals they set for him.
Sargeant was dropped suddenly after he crashed out of practice at the Dutch Grand Prix in a Williams car that had just received many upgrades. The crash occurred on Aug. 4 during the third free practice, which caused him to miss qualifying at the Zandvoort racetrack. Sargeant lost control of the car after driving on wet grass while turning on a corner and spun into a metal barrier. Though he was unhurt, his car was severely damaged and even caught on fire. Williams’ boss James Vowles stated, “To replace a driver midseason is not a decision we have taken lightly, but we believe this gives Williams the best chance to compete for points over the remainder of the season. We have just brought a large upgrade to the car and need to maximize every points-scoring opportunity in a remarkably tight midfield battle.” Though Sargeant was already going to be replaced in the 2025 season, Vowels acknowledged the “incredibly tough” situation for Sargeant after being dropped in the middle of the season. Fans are hopeful Sargeant will still continue driving, and there are rumors he may go to IndyCar.
Argentine driver Franco Colapinto will replace Sargeant for the rest of the F1 2024 season on the Williams team. In 2023, Colapinto joined the Williams Racing Driver Academy which earned him a spot in the Rookie Test for F1 in Abu Dhabi at the Yas Marina circuit. He competed in F2 for MP Motorsport in 2024 and did very well. He won his first race in May at Imola and also had three podium finishes throughout the season. F1 news shared that in July, “Williams invited him to run in the Free Practice 1 at the British Grand Prix on Friday, where he managed to complete 25 laps, clocking in with a best time of 1:29.078, enough for 18th in the time sheet.”
Colapinto had a successful F1 debut at the Autodromo Nacional in Monza on Sunday, Sept. 1, finishing in 12th place, which was six places ahead of his starting position and just two away from the points. He did not do well the day before during qualifying after making a mistake on the last qualifying lap, which dropped him to 18th. On race day, both Colapinto and his Williams teammate Alex Albon ran a one-stop strategy of only one pit stop to change tires for the entire 53 laps of the Monza circuit. Colapinto showed his consistent driving style by setting fast and steady lap times despite not having a lot of practice driving on the hard compound tires. He even ended with his fastest lap coming 0.2 seconds quicker than Albon’s. On lap 31, Colapinto exited the last turn of the circuit behind Pierre Gasly, a driver for Alpine, and took advantage of the DRS system. He then dived to the inside of Gasly, breaking late to carry more speed into the first chicane.
Colapinto jokingly stated, “I’m old, my whole body hurts,” after the race, bringing attention to how different an F1 chassis and seat is compared to F2. “I’m very happy, it was a good race. I’m still processing everything. It’s the kind of moment you’ll remember forever, your first F1 race. The whole weekend was a great experience, I’m thankful to the team; they helped me progress quickly and have a good pace.”
With so many changes happening this season at Williams, it is impossible not to mention that current Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz will join Williams for the 2025 F1 season. According to F1 news, “Sainz has had no shortage of suitors, with Williams, Sauber/Audi and Alpine all keen to get his signature — but it was James Vowles’ Williams project that ultimately got the Spaniard’s seal of approval.” It will be interesting to see what Williams does with Albon, Sainz and now Colapinto next season.
