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Laurence Edmondson, F1 Editor
Following his decision to cut Logan Sargeant from Williams midseason, team principal James Vowles said it would have been “almost unfair” to continue with the American beyond his last race in Zandvoort.
Sargeant will be replaced by Argentine Formula 2 driver Franco Colapinto, who is a member of the Williams driver academy.
Vowles said the decision was based on performance and his belief that Sargeant was no longer improving relative to his teammate Alex Albon.
“The reason [for the change] now is straightforward,” Vowles said ahead of this weekend’s Italian Grand Prix.
“We’ve had enough experience under our belt to know he’s reached the limit of what he’s able to achieve — and in fact it’s almost unfair on him furthermore continue with him.
“If you look at his face when he gets out of the car, he’s given you everything he possibly can, and it’s not enough.
“He absolutely never from a human perspective gave me anything other than 100% of what he’s able to do, but the realisation of where he is on his limits now is very clear.”
Sargeant was set to be replaced by Carlos Sainz at the end of the year and Vowles said he was unconvinced the American would have benefitted from seeing out the remaining nine races.
“The relationship can only become more and more difficult across the last nine races towards the end of the year because he knows what his future holds, which is not to be in F1 anymore, and actually a clean break at this stage feels like the correct decision for all parties.
“It feels like it’s fair to Logan, he won’t feel that way today, but I hope he reflects on it in the future that it is fair towards him in that regard.
“Changing between back-to-back races is terrible, it really is an awful thing to do, which hopefully shows you where we are in this. And to be very clear to everyone it wasn’t just based on an accident, it was based on in the race he had all of the parts that Alex had available to him, but the performance wasn’t there, he was lacking in that area, and the gap’s almost as big as it was last year.”
Red Bull reserve driver Liam Lawson and Mercedes reserve driver Mick Schumacher were also candidates to replace Sargeant, but Vowles said Red Bull’s condition of being able to recall Lawson if they needed him was not a term he was willing to accept while Schumacher did not offer enough long-term upside over Colapinto.
“So if we go through what our options were, there were three options on the table, one was Liam Lawson, one was Mick, and one was Franco,” Vowles explained.
“With Liam the contractual situation with Red Bull wouldn’t have worked with me here at Williams so that didn’t become an option for us in that circumstance.
“And then it’s a tough choice, it really is.
“Mick has improved a lot from where he was with Haas [in 2021 and 2022], there’s no doubt about it, he’s a competent driver that I know he had his time, but he has done incredible work with Alpine [in the World Endurance Championship], with Mercedes, and with McLaren in the meantime, and all advocates will speak with you and tell you where he’s adapted and where he’s changed.”
“So now the decision is do we put Mick in the car, and I think Mick would have done a good job, or do we invest in an individual that’s a part of our academy, that’s done hundreds of thousands of laps in the simulator, that’s driven our car, the only driver to do so this year in FP1, and on the data from what we can see and how he’s performing, he’s making significant steps.
“So it becomes a decision do we invest in the future or do we invest in someone else as a result of it. Both will fall into a category of good, not special, I think we have to be straightforward about this, Mick isn’t special, he just would have been good, I think he would have come with a lot more experience than Franco does, but here’s what I and Williams believe in, and the core values.
“Williams has always invested in new generations of driver and youth, and what I’ve been speaking about all the way through is the future of Williams, and the future of Williams isn’t in investing in the past, it’s investing in talent that allows us to move forward as individuals.
“It’s investing in an academy, that you’ll see announcements in the next six weeks or so how we’re filling up that academy, and the amount of finance we’re putting into it, and when you’re putting that amount of finance into your academy you’ve got to put your actions where your words are as well.”
Vowles admitted Colapinto was going in at “the deep end” but pointed to the fact he is currently sixth in the Formula 2 drivers’ championship, ahead of Mercedes junior Andrea Kimi Antonelli and Ferrari junior Oliver Bearman, who raced for Ferrari in Saudi Arabia this year and will drive for Haas in F1 in 2025.
“Franco’s ahead in the F2 championship of Antonelli, he’s ahead of Bearman, and he’s with MP which with all due respect to MP it’s not Prema or ART, and he’s doing a good job of building up into it.
“Do I think we’ve put someone into the deep end of the swimming pool? Absolutely, 100%, but if you listen to Franco’s own words you’ll hear that he’s up for it, and he knows what’s in front of him, and he’s ready for the challenge.
“So answering your question, it’s I want to demonstrate to the world that investing in a driver that, can I hope he’ll become a very successful reserve driver for us, simulator driver for us, and other aspects depending on how he performs, is investing in the future of Williams.”