Several drivers have voiced their sympathy following Logan Sargeant’s abrupt mid-season dismissal from Williams.
The news came shortly after the Dutch Grand Prix weekend, during which Sargeant crashed heavily in the final practice session, causing him to miss qualifying. Williams junior driver Franco Colapinto was chosen to replace him for the final nine rounds of the season, before new signing Carlos Sainz takes over for 2025 and beyond.
Speaking on Thursday in Monza, Sargeant’s now former F1 teammate, Alex Albon, expressed his support for the American driver.
“I’m kind of focused on my own lane, so obviously more than anything, I know Logan personally,” he said. “He’s a super guy and things didn’t work out, but I’m sure whatever he gets on and moves on to do, he’s going to be very good. I know the pace he has.
“Clearly it was quite a late decision, so I didn’t hear so long before the announcement. Obviously, yes, I did speak with Logan, but I’ll keep that behind closed doors. A great guy, and we got on very well. I think he’s got a bright future ahead of him. And yeah, I feel for him, for sure.”
McLaren’s Oscar Piastri also spoke highly of Sargeant, adding that the American wasn’t able to show his full potential during his curtailed stint in F1. The pair came up through the ranks together in various junior racing categories, and even raced as teammates at Prema Racing during the 2020 Formula 3 season.
“I sent him a text yesterday, and he seems okay,” Piastri said. “It was a little bit of a shock, obviously it wasn’t an easy time for him in F1. I think it was much more difficult for him than maybe I expected it to be, going into F1. For me, his potential was much greater than what was on show in F1, for whatever reason it might be.
“But I know firsthand—being his teammate in the junior categories, racing him in basically everything, I know how quick he is. I don’t think the change was completely unexpected. Quite a bold move to put Franco [Colapinto] in, I would say, but best of luck to him.
“Just a shame that I think he probably had… For whatever reason he wasn’t able to show everything he’s got, because in the junior categories he was genuinely one of the quickest guys I went up against. So I think his potential is much greater than what some people see.”
Colapinto readily relinquished his Formula 2 seat at MP Motorsport when he was called up by Williams to replace Sargeant on short notice. Speaking ahead of his Formula 1 debut, Colapinto empathised with the Floridian, but acknowledged that he welcomed the chance to step up.
“It’s very tough,” Colapinto said.
“It’s never easy for the team, for the driver, for the driver coming in to change in the middle of the season. It’s not nice for Logan. He had an amazing opportunity to get into F1, he had some very good performances, he got up to speed in F1 very quick.
“It’s an opportunity that I’m going to take whatever happens. I’ve been working to get to F1 since I was very young. You never know when this opportunity will come, so I’m of course taking the chance, trying to do my best.
“I understand it’s very sad for Logan, he had a great time in F1, he did a very good job. I hope he has a great performance in whatever he does next. He’s a very good driver, I’m sure he’ll do a good job.”
