Sargeant reveals when he was told he was in the hot seat for 2023 Williams drive, as he expresses desire to ‘stay in F1 for a long time’
It was in Austin where Team Principal Jost Capito revealed that subject to obtaining enough Super Licence points, Logan Sargeant would be driving for Williams in 2023. But the American driver has now revealed exactly when he found out about the teams plans for him next season.
Capito had made it clear in Austin – where Sargeant had his first FP1 outing with the team – that the Williams Driver Academy member would be replacing Nicholas Latifi for the 2023 season if he acquired enough Super Licence points to take his place in F1.
And by crossing the line in fifth in the Formula 2 Feature Race in Abu Dhabi, Sargeant took P4 in the championship standings, doing more than enough to confirm his place on the grid for next season.
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“To be honest, I was kind of kept out of the loop on that,” said Sargeant, when asked when he found out he was in contention for the Williams seat. “I think that was more done between my managers and Williams.
“I wasn’t made aware of that until after Monza. That was when it pretty much became concrete as long as I achieved my Super Licence, and I think they decided to tell me early in order to prep as best as I could and be as ready as I could for the last round.”
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Now that he has enough Super Licence points, Sargeant was asked how he planned to cope with the pressure of being the first American driver on the grid since 2015, to which he replied: “I feel like as long as I prepare the best I can physically and mentally, put my time in at the factory in Grove and do everything I possibly can to be the best driver I can be, I have to live with that. Hopefully, that is good enough to stay in F1 for a long time.”
Sargeant went into the Feature Race on Sunday in Abu Dhabi knowing he only needed one more point on his Super Licence to guarantee his seat for next year, and he revealed just how relived he was to take the chequered flag at the Yas Marina Circuit.
“A bit of a weight off my shoulders when we got the job done yesterday,” Sargeant admitted. “[I was] trying to find that balance between risk and reward really. It was actually not as much pressure as expected because going into the weekend, I had become quite understanding of what was at stake and quite at peace with it.
“So, I just took the pressure off. I knew if we executed the way we could and had the same pace that we’ve had all year that everything would fine. But for sure in the races, I had to find a good balance between over-aggressive and under-aggressive I guess you could say.”
