Williams F1 team principal James Vowles reckons Logan Sargeant deserves a seat in 2024, caveat there are efforts made to retain it. Amidst rumors of replacing the American driver post-summer break, the former Mercedes strategist expressed his desire to retain him.
With a stark difference in performance between the Williams drivers, Vowles addressed the rumors surrounding Sargeant’s potential exit. With their 2025 driver line-up confirmed, the need to improve their position in the constructors standings remains a priority. The American driver has struggled to outperform his teammate in a majority of the race weekends in the 2024 season.
According to Vowles, Sargeant must show he has the merit to retain his seat for the rest of the year. He claimed that the Miami-born driver had improved in the Hungarian GP and British GP and earned a pat on the back. However, he felt Williams underdelivered at the Belgium GP.
Speaking on the F1 Nation podcast about the future of Logan Sargeant, Vowles said (via Planet F1):
“He deserves to be a professional driver. He’s one of the 20 best Formula One drivers in the world, to start there. As long as he earns it, he has a seat and he has to earn it. I would say that the blunt truth behind it, which I provided him as well, is Silverstone and Budapest, good job. He really did move forward. You can see he’s seconds off Alex and Alex is faster than people think. But in Spa, we weren’t there and we have to understand why together, what’s different and will it apply to future races.”
“Many will take objection at this level of what I call brutal honesty on things. But I much rather that he is given every opportunity but knows where he has to improve rather than a decision gets made from one day to the next without any influence from his side,” he added.
James Vowles is keen on retaining Logan Sargeant at Williams for the rest of the year
Despite the speculation throughout the season, Vowles has acknowledged the efforts made by Logan Sargeant to improve. He claimed that the team has a responsibility towards him since Sargeant was a Williams Academy driver as well. The former Mercedes strategist felt that it was important to give the American driver the platform to improve and see out the rest of the season.
Addressing the situation surrounding Sargeant and a midseason exit, Vowles said (via Planet F1):
“As I’ve said time and time again, I’ve done everything possible and I will continue to do so to give him the platform where he can do so. In other words, I want him to see out the season. I want him. He’s a Williams Academy driver, he will remain a Williams Academy driver. We’ve invested in him and I don’t just mean two years of Formula One. I mean also in his F2 career and otherwise. We have a responsibility towards him as well.”
Logan Sargeant has only managed to out-qualify his teammate Albon in two sprint shootout sessions this year. In a normal race format weekend, he has been out-qualified by his teammate at all the races so far in 2024.
Williams is currently ninth in the drivers standings, with Albon scoring all four points for the team. Sargeant is yet to score his first points of the 2024 season.