Williams drops Logan Sargeant from its F1 lineup mid-season and promotes Franco Colapinto

GROVE, England (AP) — Logan Sargeant, the only American driver in Formula 1, was fired by Williams on Tuesday and will be replaced starting this weekend at the Italian Grand Prix by Argentinian driver Franco Colapinto.

Sargeant leaves F1 with one point in 36 race starts since he joined Williams at the start of the 2023 season. His best finish was 11th this season, a year in which Williams had given him clear performance goals to keep his seat through the end of the season.

Sargeant crashed heavily in practice at last week’s Dutch Grand Prix and finished 16th in the race.

“To replace a driver mid-season is not a decision we have taken lightly, but we believe this gives Williams the best chance to compete for points over the remainder of the season,” team principal James Vowles said in a statement. “We have just brought a large upgrade to the car and need to maximize every points-scoring opportunity in a remarkably tight midfield battle.”

Vowles acknowledged the decision would be “incredibly tough” on Sargeant, who was already due to be replaced for next season as Carlos Sainz Jr. moves from Ferrari to Williams to partner Alex Albon for 2025. There are nine races remaining this season, two of them in the United States.

“I know firsthand how brutal this sport can be & it’s tough to see Logan leave the team mid-season,” Albon posted on social media. “You gave it your all brother and it’s been a pleasure being teammates with you. I know whatever you’ll do next, you’ll be awesome.”

Sargeant has not spoken publicly about his firing.

There’s been speculation that Florida native Sargeant could make a move to IndyCar, potentially with Prema Racing, which is entering the series next season with two cars.

The 21-year-old Colapinto, who is sixth in the F2 standings, becomes the first driver from Argentina to race in F1 since Gaston Mazzacane in 2001. That was a long wait for a country with a proud tradition in F1 as the home of Juan Manuel Fangio, a five-time champion in the 1950s.

“Coming into F1 mid-season will be an enormous learning curve but I am up for the challenge, and I’m fully focused on working as hard as I can with Alex and the team to make it a success,” said Colapinto, who drove one practice session for Williams at the British Grand Prix last month using Sargeant’s car.

Sargeant arrived in F1 at the start of last year as the first U.S. driver in the series since 2015. He had placed fourth in F2 in 2022 but struggled to be competitive in F1 against his more experienced teammate Albon.

The highlight of Sargeant’s time in F1 came on home soil at the United States Grand Prix last year, when he earned the only point of his career in 10th — but only after two cars above him were disqualified for technical infringements. That made Sargeant the first American driver to score a point in F1 since Michael Andretti 30 years before.

It wasn’t the breakthrough Williams had hoped for, however, and Sargeant regularly finished far behind Albon in qualifying and races this year.

In March, the team took the unusual step of benching Sargeant and giving his car to Albon at the Australian Grand Prix after Albon’s own car was wrecked in a practice crash. At the time, Vowles praised Sargeant as “a true team player,” but the incident was a sign the team had little confidence he would score points.

“This is undoubtedly incredibly tough on Logan, who has given his all throughout his time with Williams, and we want to thank him for all his hard work and positive attitude,” Vowles said Tuesday after Sargeant was replaced. “Logan remains a talented driver and we will support him to continue his racing career for the future.”

___

AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing