Written by Gabriel Tsui, Edited by Meghana Sree
On the Friday afternoon of December 1st 2023, Williams Racing announced that Logan Sargeant will be returning to the team on a one-year contract, after a somewhat not-so-optimal season for the rookie.
Throughout the season, Sargeant scored only a single point at Austin, that too owing to the disqualifications of Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton.
Even after a poor season compared to high-flying teammate Alex Albon, James Vowles elected to bring back the American driver. Some raised questions on whether this was the right choice, pointing out the multiple DNFs and poor race pace.
However, we argue that Sargeant deserves the Williams seat for the 2024 season, based on his improvements throughout the season, his lack of experience in high-level racing, financial incentives, the lack of suitable replacement, and the trust from the entire Williams team.
Improvements in Performance
Throughout the season, Sargeant made improvements to his driving and adapted to his car, highlighted by a P7 in qualifying in Las Vegas, beating out big time opponents such as Fernando Alonso and Valtteri Bottas.
Although two safety cars led to him finishing further down the grid, the early parts in the race before the first Safety Car showed that Sargeant had good pace, and was able to keep up with his teammate.
He showed throughout the season that he has potential for more improvements, and the willingness to strive to be better.
Sargeant Needs Time to Develop
Keep in mind, Sargeant made the jump from F3 to F2 to F1 within two years, and having to adapt to a new car-build on a yearly basis is a really tall task for a young driver. Being rushed into F1 isn’t particularly helpful for Sargeant, and drivers need time to adapt to their car.
So, giving Sargeant another year at the car will give Vowles a true look at Sargeant’s performance and the time will help decide if they’re going to replace him in the future.
Financial Incentives
Sargeant is the only American F1 driver on the grid, and the first since Alexander Rossi in the 2015 season, where he raked up only five starts.
An American driver creates a lot of fan gear revenue from American consumers, and big-time American sponsors, such as Gulf Oil, Michelob Ultra, Stephens, and Duracell. Sponsors and fan revenue are a big part of the team’s profits, which only further incentivises Williams to keep Sargeant.
No Suitable Replacement
As lame as this sounds, there is no suitable replacement for Sargeant. Drivers such as Mick Schumacher, Théo Pouchaire, or Felipe Drugovich will have to adapt to the car.
This will cause Williams to lose out on valuable opportunities to explore the maximum potential of their car under Vowles, who is keen on taking the team back to the top.
Sargeant is the best choice out of the options Williams had as he’s already familiar with the team and comfortable in an F1 car. That's why it makes sense that Williams went for another year with Sargeant.
Trust from the Team
This reason is more of a solid explanation of why Vowles elected to keep Sargeant. In an interview with Sky Sports, Vowles pointed out that even though the car “isn’t where it needs to be”, Sargeant went out and showed the team that he still had a fight in him.
Vowles also pointed out that the challenges Sargeant endured during his rookie season were chances for growth. He sees the potential within Sargeant, and he believes Sargeant can reach great heights with great support and opportunity.