Williams boss James Vowles revealed his team are ‘constantly evaluating’ Logan Sargeant‘s Formula 1 future and hinted they could yet replace him before the end of the 2024 season.
Ahead of the 2024 British Grand Prix, Sargeant has shown small signs of improvement in a difficult situation at Williams but it’s almost certainly going to be too little, too late to earn a third year on the grid and the American’s biggest concern right now could be reaching the end of his second.
Mercedes junior Andrea Kimi Antonelli has been linked with the seat after the FIA changed their super licence rules to allow drivers under the age of 18 to race in F1, which has called Sargeant‘s Williams future into fresh doubt.
“We’re continually evaluating, what we said to Logan is it’s a meritocracy,” Vowles told members of the press, including Total-Motorsport.com.
“You have to make sure you earn your place in the sport continuously, that’s been the same message that has been for 18 months really for him and we are open minded to things.
“What I’ve said before and I’ve maintained today is that our car – and this is a responsibility on my shoulders and the team – currently isn’t quick enough. It’s not a driver issue we suffer from today, we’ve simply been out-developed and we have to make sure we accelerate that process.”
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Vowles pours cold water on junior suggestions
With Sargeant‘s Williams future in doubt, the timing of Franco Colapinto‘s F1 debut in FP1 at Silverstone certainly raised eyebrows.
The Williams junior finished 18th but ahead of F2 rival Isack Hadjar‘s Red Bull and just four-tenths off Alex Albon – potentially Colapinto‘s future teammate if he does replace the American.
However, Vowles said it will be a longer road for Colapinto to earn a full-time seat regardless of Sargeant‘s Williams future and even hinted the American’s struggles are shaping how they plan their driver lineup going forward.
“I believe that you really can burn a driver if you put them in the car too soon,” Vowles added. “In modern day F1 what you’re seeing is rookies are struggling as a result of things. So it’s not just about excellence.
“Our investment, our commitment to them has to be an amount of time in a historic car, an amount of time with preparation to make sure that if we choose them to go forward, they’re effectively in the strongest place they can be and we haven’t provided that to Franco at this point.”
