Logan Sargeant benched by Williams for remainder of F1 season

Williams Team Principal James Vowles has seen enough

Logan Sargeant’s time in Formula 1 seems to have come to an end.

The American driver scored a single point in his first F1 season and was retained by Williams Team Principal James Vowles for the 2024 season. This decision came as somewhat of a surprise, given Sargeant’s struggles a year ago and Williams’ designs on a move further up the grid.

However, Vowles’ patient decision has yet to translate into success on the track for Sargeant. While the Williams boss continues to maintain that Sargeant has shown signs of improvement this season, and there are indications that he has narrowed the gap to teammate Alexander Albon, he has yet to finish in the points this season. With Williams having already decided to sign Carlos Sainz Jr. for next season, Sargeant’s time with Williams was already coming to an end.

But now, the team is making a switch midseason. Williams junior driver Franco Colapinto has been tapped to finish the season for Williams. Colapinto currently drives for MP Motorsport in F2 and sits sixth in that Drivers’ Championship. He enjoyed his first taste of an F1 weekend back at the 2024 British Grand Prix when he drove in FP1 in place of Sargeant. Colapinto also participated in the team’s post-season testing session at Yas Marina following the 2023 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

In a statement provided by the team Colapinto called the promotion something that “dreams are made of.”

“It is an honour to be making my Formula 1 debut with Williams – this is what dreams are made of,” said Colapinto. “The team has such amazing history and a mission to get back to the front which I can’t wait to be part of.

“Coming into F1 mid-season will be an enormous learning curve but I am up for the challenge, and I’m fully focused on working as hard as I can with Alex and the team to make it a success.”

Vowles stated that the move gives Williams their “best chance” at competing for points over the rest of the season.

“To replace a driver mid-season 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 maximise every points-scoring opportunity in a remarkably tight midfield battle,” began Vowles.

“We also believe in investing in our young drivers in the Williams Racing Driver Academy, and Franco is getting a fantastic opportunity to demonstrate what he is capable of across the final nine rounds of the season,” continued the Williams boss. “This is undoubtedly incredibly tough on Logan, who has given his all throughout his time with Williams, and we want to thank him for all his hard work and positive attitude.

“Logan remains a talented driver and we will support him to continue his racing career for the future. I know that Franco has great speed and huge potential, and we look forward to seeing what he can do in Formula 1.”

As for Sargeant, the final straw with Vowles appears to be his crash in FP3 at last weekend’s Dutch Grand Prix. After Williams brought several upgrades to Zandvoort, Sargeant’s crash prevented him from participating in qualifying and put the team behind the proverbial eight ball regarding those upgrades.