Who is Logan Sargeant, the new US driver for Williams in the F1?

The American will be one of three rookies this season along with AlphaTauri’s Nyck de Vries and McLaren’s Oscar Piastri. Though de Vries has been on the scene for some time - he won a Formula E World Championship - and Piastri turned heads with his Formula 2 title, Sargeant will come into Formula 1 with little known about him.

Who is Logan Sargeant from?

Born in December 2000 in Boca Raton, Florida, Logan Sargeant is the only American driver currently on the grid when he makes his Formula 1 debut at the 2023 Bahrain Grand Prix. For perspective, the last time an American driver took to the track in a Grand Prix, it was Alexander Rossi at the 2015 Brazilian Grand Prix. Having started his career in Karting in Rotax Mirco Max, it wasn’t long before his skills were noticed as he won the Florida Winter Tour and Rotax Max Challenge USA. What followed, was a steady climb through the Karting ranks, until finally he took the decision to head to Europe. There, he would clinch several titles including the prestigious CIK-FIA World Championship in the KFJ class.

“A moment for me in my career was winning the 2015 World Championship in karting,” Sargeant said about his time in karting. “It was just a good way to sign off on the karting side and head into my formula career. Obviously, that helps you to get into a good team starting off in formulas. I was still super young, so a bit more naïve, and I just sort of always expected to win. We all want to win but I think I didn’t realize how hard it was to win and now I do, I know to the extent that you need to work to get those wins. It’s really different in the way that you felt afterwards. I feel much more satisfied now because of how much hard work I put into it.”

Logan Sargeant’s path to Formula racing

It was 2016, when Sargeant joined Team Motopark for an opportunity to race at the Formula 4 UAE Championship. Though he wasn’t able to score any wins, his overall consistency did put him on the podium as the second placed overall finisher. Next up, was the F4 UK Championship in 2017 and once again consistency was key as he bagged two wins and 10 podiums, which led to an overall finish of third place. By now it was becoming clear that the young American had something and so he was given an opportunity with Formula Renault with R-ace GP, to whom he committed for a season in an effort to get a shot at the Formula Renault Eurocup and NEC. In both events he was once again impressive and with that he secured himself a fourth and fifth place finish respectively.

What came next for Sargeant, was his first foray into Formula 3 in 2019 under Carlin’s banner. Though it was definitely not easy for him as he placed 19th overall, his showing at the Macau GP with its difficult city circuit demonstrated that he was a driver to keep an eye on and even more so when he crossed the line in third place. “Even though I didn’t win, it was still probably one of the most successful weekends in my career, considering I was a rookie, and we were able to get on the podium,” he said. “How it changed my career? I’m not 100% sure, but it definitely changed my life. The feeling that you get around there at those speeds is something that is really special and something I hope I get to do again at some point.”

The turning point for Logan Sargeant

By 2020, Sargeant had now made the switch to Prema and with that secured two wins across six podiums, which in itself gave him an overall finish of third place. Yet, there was trouble on the horizon. Due to financial constraints the young American was forced to remain in Formula 3 for another season and as a result joined the not so prolific Charouz team. That, however, was to be the catalyst for something special. Across the season, Sargeant scored points in 15 of 21 races before finally securing Charouz’s first victory in F3.

“Helping drive a struggling team forward, I think that massively changed my career course because that ultimately ended with me getting into the Williams Driver Academy,” Sargeant said about his exploits with Charouz. “I knew I was very capable of winning, as I had previously done the year before. So, for me, it was just about really helping them try to get the car as good as we possibly could in the short amount of time that we had together.”

Logan Sargeant becomes an F1 driver for Williams

Despite a cameo in GT3 during the 2021 season, it wasn’t long before Williams announced that they had acquired the American as their newest signing for their Driver Academy. At the end of that very season, he was given an opportunity in F1 Young Driver Test with Williams in Abu Dhabi. Almost immediately after, he made the jump in Formula 2 with HWA Racelab, but his time there was nothing to shout about which resulted in a quick move to Carlin for the 2022 F2 season. It was then that things started to come together, as he took second place in Baku before getting two wins at Silverstone and the Red Bull Ring respectively.

What followed were strong FP1 showings with Williams in Mexico, U.S.A, and Brazil, meaning that his F1 license now depended on his overall finish in the championship. With a fourth placed finish, the job was done and Williams announce Sargeant as Alex Albon’s teammate for the 2023 F1 season. “I was told after Monza that the seat would be mine as long as I got my Super License,” Sargeant said in Abu Dhabi. “I think that was a good thing because that allowed me to sort of mentally come to terms with what was at stake going into Abu Dhabi. It gave me the correct direction in terms of preparation for Abu Dhabi, and by the time I got to feeling the pressure, I feel like it was manageable and I didn’t let it sort of overcome me at that point.”

What lies ahead for Logan Sargeant?

With the 2023 F1 season upon us, Sargeant has been spending his time preparing mentally for his debut, but also conditioning his body for the physical demands of a grueling 23-race calendar. Indeed, while it’s too early to be making any predictions, it’s clear that the young American deserves to be in Formula 1 and has the right attitude to stay there and perhaps even win.

“I’ve been through the FP1s and I can feel my neck is reacting in a very positive way and getting much stronger,” he said in Abu Dhabi, having carried out a day’s driving at the post-season test. I’ve been with the team for over a year now. I’ve met everyone along the way and it didn’t feel like I had to transition into the team, if you know what I mean. I felt like I was just returning home, it just felt normal, it felt natural and it was just great to get back to work with them.”