Williams boss hits out at Logan Sargeant ‘odd stories’ as F1 2024 status addressed

James Vowles, team principal of Williams, hit out against the ”odd stories” circulating in the press about the future of driver Logan Sargeant — but stopped short of confirming he’ll stick it out with the team for the rest of 2024.

In a media roundtable ahead of the Belgian Grand Prix, Vowles reiterated that Sargeant must “earn his place” on the team — but that the American driver has shown growth and progress.

James Vowles: Logan Sargeant must “earn his place”

Additional reporting by Thomas Maher

Williams team principal sat down with several media members, including PlanetF1.com, for a roundtable interview prior to the Belgian Grand Prix. Understandably, one of the hottest topics on the table was the future of Logan Sargeant — particularly, if he’ll see out the rest of the season.

“First and foremost, there are odd stories that appear,” Vowles said of current rumors circulating around Sargeant.

“Logan and I speak — I’m not going to say daily, but on a race weekend, definitely daily, and outside of that several times a week.

“My job is to do the absolute best that I can for him because ultimately, if we’re scoring points, we need both drivers on song for doing so.”

This refutation came after several outlets published quotes from former F1 driver Marcus Ericsson that Sargeant and Vowles “don’t even talk with each other anymore” and that “they barely greet each other.”

Vowles continued in the roundtable, “Second to that, I have a responsibility towards him. He is still going to be a professional racing driver in the future, and he’s still part of Williams in that regard, and we have an investment into him.

“We started it here, it will continue.”

Vowles was clear that he had seen a “growth pattern” in Sargeant at both Silverstone and Budapest but admitted that during the Belgian Grand Prix weekend, Sargeant was “off the pace.”

“It’s hard to pinpoint why; he’s just found that the car has been very unpredictable to be in lap to lap,” Vowles said.

“The best I can put it to you is, he know where where he needs to be, and where that is, for complete transparency, is he has to be matching Alex, pushing Alex along every time. And we’re not there yet.

“All of you know the statistics on qualifying. But if I also show you where he was across Budapest and Silverstone prior to that, you can see that it’s good progress.”

Logan Sargeant’s place in American F1 history:

👉 US F1 drivers ranked: Logan Sargeant 18th and Phil Hill beaten to No.1 spot

👉 Seven reasons why US drivers like Logan Sargeant struggle to make it in Formula 1

However, Vowles refused to definitively comment on Sargeant’s place on the team.

“I think what I’ve said before is this: Earn your place,” Vowles said. “And in Silverstone and Budapest, he earned his place.

“This weekend, I need him to do more in the race weekend, but I’m not going to make a decision from one race to the next.”

There, Vowles reiterated his advice to the American driver.

“What I don’t want to sit here and say is, Logan absolutely has a place now for ever in this situation. Earn it. As I have to earn my job, as Alex has to earn his job.”

As such, the jury is still out as to Sargeant’s future within the Williams team for the rest of this season.

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