The sole American racer in Formula One had a somewhat okay performance in the sprint race before the Miami Grand Prix. However, Logan Sargeant struggled in qualifying, raising concerns about his position with Williams.
Max Verstappen, the three-time F1 champion, won the sprint race, maintaining his unbeaten streak on the Miami track since its debut in 2022. Sargeant finished 12th, a couple of spots ahead of his teammate Alex Albon.
During qualifying for Sunday’s race, Sargeant ended up in 17th place out of 20 drivers. Sargeant radioed his team to check if he made it to the next qualifying round, but he hadn’t. He expressed disappointment, indicating the challenge he faces.
James Vowles, the team principal at Williams, emphasized that Sargeant needs to step up his game to match Albon consistently if he wants to keep his spot.
There’s speculation that Sargeant might be replaced soon, possibly after the race in Imola on May 19. One potential replacement is Andrea Kimi Antonelli, a 17-year-old Mercedes junior driver competing in F2. However, he doesn’t have the Super License required for F1 yet.
There are reports that a request has been made to grant Antonelli a Super License before he turns 18 in August. “I think there’s probably a desire, but from my point of view, we’ve got much bigger problems to handle than drivers right now,” Vowles mentioned.
“Alex has shown championship-level performances, but currently, he’s not earning points, and our main focus is improving our car moving forward. That’s my main concern rather than making decisions about drivers for the 2025 or 2026 seasons.”
“Regarding Kimi, it’s important to remember that just 20 months ago, he was driving a Formula 4 car. Moving up to Formula 1 in such a short time is a significant step.”
Even though Williams uses Mercedes engines, Vowles stated that he doesn’t have enough information to assess Antonelli’s performance, and he clarified that Antonelli won’t be driving Sargeant’s car in Imola.
“I haven’t had direct updates from Mercedes about his test performances. Plus, it’s not really fair to compare since they’re using older cars, maybe from 2021 or 2022. There’s no proper benchmark to gauge his performance against.”
Vowles mentioned that his last conversation with Antonelli was during the 2023 season finale in Abu Dhabi. However, he emphasized that Antonelli won’t be replacing Sargeant anytime soon.
“I’ve always said from the start, it’s all about performance. Logan needs to prove himself to keep his seat. Right now, he’s got some tough goals to meet to match Alex’s performance, but there’s no talk of replacing him.”
Sargeant missed one race this season when Albon had a crash during practice in Australia. Since Williams didn’t have a spare car, Sargeant gave up his car to Albon for the race. In the next race in Japan, Sargeant got back Albon’s fixed car instead of his own undamaged Williams.
In the first four out of five races this season, Albon has outperformed Sargeant in qualifying every time, and Sargeant’s best finish has been 14th. He’s earned only one point so far, which he got last year in Austin during his rookie season, after competing in 26 races.
Despite the pressure, Sargeant feels calm racing at home, and isn’t letting outside talk affect him.
“Every Formula 1 race comes with a lot of pressure. But racing at home feels more relaxed. I get to stay home, eat whatever I want, and be with my friends and family,” he said. “It’s different from usual, but in a good way.”
