Logan Sargeant: The American dream
Logan Sargeant, driver for Williams Racing (Image: Getty Images)
Logan Sargeant will become the first full-time American Formula One driver in 17 years as he joins Williams for the 2023 season alongside Alex Albon.
The young American is one of three rookie drivers joining the Formula One grid with Nyck De Vries and Oscar Piastri also arriving on the grid.
Sargeant will be one of the youngest drivers on the grid with only Piastri younger than him, both of which have competed against each other through numerous championships prior to Formula One.
Although he has had less experience in the world of motorsport compared to other drivers, Sargeant has been performing to a high standard since he began karting in 2008.
The American’s karting career was long but successful; he competed in different karting championships from 2008 to 2016. From the moment he began, it was clear that Sargeant was a very talented driver.
Throughout his karting career, the young driver finished in the top three at 20 different championships, 12 of them being in first place.
In 2017, Sargeant participated in numerous Formula Renault and Formula 4 championships, his highest finishes being third behind fellow rookie Piastri. In 2018, Sargeant competed in Formula Renault for a full season before making the move to Formula 3 in 2019.
Sargeant finished 19th in his first season of Formula 3 and in 2020, he decided to move teams to Prema Racing where he finished third behind Théo Pourchaire and new teammate Piastri.
Sargeant remained in Formula 3 for another season as he did not have the financial capability to progress into Formula 2. His final season in Formula 3 saw him finish seventh before finally making the natural step up to Formula 2 in 2022.
During his first and only season in Formula 2, Sargeant managed to secure P4 in the championship and thus securing his seat in Formula 1.
As a result of his young age and little experience in motorsport, Sargeant did not have enough points on his Super License. This is a permit which is required for a driver to drive in Formula One. To tackle this, Sargeant had to finish fifth or above in the standings whilst also carrying out numerous practice sessions for Williams in F1 to add more points to his Super License.
Sargeant managed to finish fourth in the standings and carried out more than the required number of sessions for his Super License and was able to join Williams Racing for 2023.
Logan Sargeant at testing ahead of the 2023 season (Image: Getty Images)
Sargeant makes the move up to Formula One after a very long and successful career, he has been a member of the Williams Driver Academy since the end of 2021 and now finally joins the team for the 2023 season and foreseeable future.
Sven Smeets, sporting director of Williams, said: “To be able to give Logan the opportunity to compete in Formula 1 for Williams Racing next year after being an integral part of our Driver Academy is a proud moment for the team.”