Sargeant's F1 Swan Song Looms Large at Miami Grand Prix
May 2 - Miami could be Logan Sargeant s last race in Formula 1.
Rumours are building that Toto Wolff's 17-year-old protege Kimi Antonelli is being prepared for an immediate debut for Mercedes-powered Williams at the following grand prix at Imola.
The young Italian actually tested Mercedes' 2022 car at Imola just days ago.
"It's said that from Imola, Kimi will immediately be in F1," Italian F1 insider Leo Turrini wrote in his Quotidiano column.
One hurdle for Antonelli will be obtaining a mandatory F1 super license, as the minimum age was increased to 18 following Max Verstappen's debut a decade ago.
"Is it a good idea to put him into a Williams straight away? It's not exactly a great car," Turrini said. "I hope Toto Wolff knows what he's doing."
Former F1 driver Ralf Schumacher predictably thinks his nephew Mick would be a better candidate, but he supports the rumoured decision to oust Sargeant.
"I think he and the team would do themselves a favour if they could find a solution," he told formel1.de. "I don't understand the patience they've had with him.
"He is clearly overwhelmed, he's made many mistakes, and his body language says it all. Eddie Jordan or Frank Williams would never have had such patience."
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Come on, what makes people think FIA, out of all, would bend super license rules, which they're very strict about?
People should know better than to expect certain things from them, especially after rejecting Herta's case because no force majeure situation had affected his points-gaining ability, not to mention no provision criteria even exist for the minimum age requirement (i.e., no justifiable reason for handing a dispensation on any grounds), which came alongside the points system back in 2016 for a reason, so making an exception would put them in a difficult position because other drivers who happen to reach the minimum points amount before turning 18 would certainly also start asking for a dispensation as otherwise, a double-standard treatment would arise.
Turrini is a long-time journo, so he definitely should know better & also realize that even though Williams is a midfield team rather than a regular top-level team like Mercedes, it's still an F1 team, so Antonelli's questionable readiness to even compete in F1 yet would almost certainly hold them back excessively, perhaps even more than Latifi in 2022, & midfield teams need two consistently performing drivers to maximize opportunities against their closest rivals.
Bending the minimum age limit would also mean going against the valid driver's license requirement, as 18 is the minimum requirement in most countries (including Italy), so double impact.
Even if they wanted to replace Sargeant & during the season, that could only happen for the Italian GP, i.e., the first full event after his 18th birthday, although theoretically, he could compete in the Dutch GP for which merely participating in a practice session (which is okay without a license) would be enough, but practically, the following round in Monza, so in any case, Sargeant will drive until the Dutch GP at the very least.