Williams may have taken the bold decision of sticking with Logan Sargeant for the 2024 season, but the American has just not performed to the levels that the team expected from him. After managing to score just one point in the entirety of 2023, the 23-year-old has had another difficult start to his 2024 campaign. Consequently, a fan recently asked an expert if Williams would replace Sargeant with Andrea Kimi Antonelli, who is making big waves in F2.
While speaking on the most recent episode of The Fast and the Curious podcast, the expert, Christian replied, “I don’t see Kimi Antonelli getting into a Formula 1 car this season. He has not done a season in Formula 2 yet. I think it is too early to disrupt his development. I would think that is too much too soon“.
While Christian does not believe that Antonelli is ready to make the step up to F1 yet, he does admit that Logan Sargeant is under massive pressure. The expert believes that since the American has already finished his rookie season, Williams won’t be too patient with him anymore.
As a result, he is “really worried” about Sargeant’s future in F1. While it remains to be seen whether Williams will consider replacing Sargeant or not, Antonelli remains a prospect teams would love to keep an eye out for. Currently, in F2, he should amass enough super license points to compete in F1 next year.
When it comes to Sargeant, Williams won’t find it particularly difficult to replace him. Several talented drivers are competing in F2 currently, keeping Antonelli aside. For Sargeant, every race is crucial as he looks to avoid the struggles of 2023 in the races to come.
Logan Sargeant outshined by Alex Albon every step of the way
Although the contracts of several drivers are expiring at the end of the 2023 season, it is Logan Sargeant who is undoubtedly under the most pressure. Williams is a team struggling for performance, and is also in bad shape financially.
The Grove-based team dropped several points last season, particularly because of Sargeant’s inability to keep up with teammate Alex Albon. Albon scored 27 out of the 28 points for the team and finished 13th in the championship.
In stark contrast, Sargeant only managed to score one and finished 21st. Another key issue that Williams faced with Sargeant on their side was the number of times the American crashed the car which cost the team millions of dollars in repairs.
Although Sargeant cost Williams more than $7 million in repairs last season, team principal James Vowles chose to retain him for 2024, a decision many experts questioned. Considering that Sargeant’s underperformance when compared to Albon has persisted, the American cannot afford to make more mistakes. If he does, it is likely Williams will replace him in 2025.
