Williams' Controversial Choice: Sargeant's Staying Sparks F1 Debate
Dec.4 - As the bulk of Formula 1 journalists were preparing for a long-awaited weekend off at the end of an intense 2023 season, Williams completed the grid for the 2024 world championship.
With Logan Sargeant retained for next year, it marks the first time in history in which there will be no changes at all to the sport's driver lineup from one season to the next.
"Logan has demonstrated immense skill whilst under the pressure of the world stage, making him a perfect fit for our team," team boss James Vowles said.
"We have great confidence in his abilities and believe that together we can achieve even greater success in the upcoming season."
Other candidates had been linked with Sargeant's final spot on the 2024 grid, but Auto Motor und Sport believes the 22-year-old American ultimately secured the "valuable backing" of Williams' new US-based owners Dorilton Capital.
As for the late Friday timing of the announcement, some believe it was clearly designed to give the news a lower-profile given Sargeant's obvious performance struggle in his rookie season.
"The announcement was finally made at 5.30pm central European time," correspondent Tobias Gruner noted. "Apparently it was timed for the American driver's home market."
But veteran F1 journalist Roger Benoit is among those who think Williams' continued trust in Sargeant represents a team "without the courage to look to the future".
"The fact that Logan Sargeant has survived demonstrates nonsense or a lack of money," he wrote in the Swiss newspaper Blick.
"The American is statistically the worst driver of the season, with a single world championship point and 0-22 in the qualifying duel against Alex Albon."
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I really don't see how his finacial backers get any benefit from their driver being thrashed week in week out, if anything it makes them look incompetent by backing a loser.
One poster, Jere, deserves kudos for his confidence in this decision. I don't understand it, but I'm not in charge of driver selection.
Just a gut-feeling thing that he wouldn't get sacked easily because rookies generally need time with limited on-track testing & Williams is generally more patient than, for example, Red Bull in comparison, especially as he got promoted to a full-time driver from their driver academy with a long-term view, so very clear-cut they wouldn't sack him after only single season without a strong justification.
People really should avoid jumping to definitive conclusions hastily in life generally, as I do & be wholly realistic with their expectations.
Not giving him more than a single season would've been weird, considering some who, in comparison, were even more inconsistent & error-prone in their rookie seasons received more than a season, so equally justified to give him a second season to show his worth for a long-term stay.
Jere, I appreciate your viewpoint but must ask you to check F1 history. No driver who had a full season EVER did worse than SAR in 2023. 21st in a 20 car field is laughable. He is, at best, a good FF driver. Not counting his errors, he is just plain no better than a backmarker. Why expect a better 2024 against the same drivers and cars? Who is he going to beat, your hero Chinese kid?
I mean, for example, TSU was comparatively more inconsistent & error-prone, not to mention certain total flops like Jolyon Palmer.
Nothing controversial, but rather something I expected this whole time without any doubts about his continuation, knowing Williams isn't like Red Bull, i.e., an organization that hastily ousts drivers without giving them time, & even RB hasn't done that with every single struggling driver.
At least all that annoying speculation by third-party individuals about other drivers (who were never realistic options anyway) finally stopped.
Next season will be another matter, though, with higher expectations because of not being a rookie anymore, but I'm positive he'll get better with more experience.
And my gut feeling is Williams have managed to weedle out of Logans Dad or very rich Uncle enough $$$ for another year, with the promise of another yr on top of that , if he performs, Williams historically have a big tendency to get rid of good drivers ala Nige, and when they dont get rid of poor drivers its usually because of $$$ ala Pastor