Haas or nothing: This was the assumption regarding Mick Schumacher’s immediate Formula 1 future. But Williams team boss Jost Capito has now opened a back door for the 23-year-old and revealed that Schumacher could still become a hot favourite with the British racing team. For that to happen, however, a number of things have to come together.
Originally, Williams had long since decided on a second driver for the 2023 Formula 1 season. Alongside Alexander Albon, the American Logan Sargeant is supposed to be in the hunt for points for the team. However, the 21-year-old does not yet have enough points to get his super licence for driving in Formula One.
American short of points
Sargeant needs 40 points to get his Formula 1 super licence for the coming season. As of today, however, his account stands at only 28 points.
Th American will get two more points for each F1 free practice session in which he covers a distance of at least 100 km but in Mexico, Sargeant sat in the Williams in FP1, but only completed 22 laps and thus only 94.6 km. A bitter pill to swallow…
In Brazil and Abu Dhabi, Williams will give the 21-year-old more practice sessions and thus increase his account to (probably) 30 points. For the remaining ten points, the youngster has to take care of himself in the Formula 2 finale in Abu Dhabi in a week’s time. The starting position is good, but a retirement or accident could still block his path to a race seat.
Mick Schumacher as a contingency plan for Williams?
Williams has already come up with a contingency plan for this eventuality, and this plan might also include the signing of Mick Schumacher. Because if Sargeant doesn’t get his super licence, “everyone who has experience and a super licence is an option,” Williams team boss Jost Capito said in a Motorsport-Magazin.com interview, leaving a back door open for the German.
Schumacher has already been a consideration at the British racing team in recent months in the British press, as the team boss also revealed. “We have dealt with everyone who comes into question,” said Capito, who at the same time pointed out that the ball is still in Haas’ court in Schumacher’s case.
“It is not yet decided whether Mick will stay at Haas or not,” he said.
Who is Logan Sargeant?
Logan’s career in motorsport began on the karting track, where he competed competitively from the age of eight. He quickly demonstrated his talent, winning the Karting Federation Junior championship in 2015, becoming the first American to win an FIA karting championship since 1978.
In 2016, Logan competed in the Formula 4 UAE Championship, securing second place overall by taking 15 podiums. The following year, the American joined Carlin Racing to run the F4 British Championship, finishing third and scoring two wins and 10 podiums along the way.
In 2018, Logan took on the Formula Renault Eurocup with R-ace GP, recording three wins and seven podiums to secure him fourth place in the championship.
2019 saw Logan return to Carlin for his rookie season of the FIA Formula 3 Championship, in which he scored points on four occasions. He also joined the British team for his debut of the Macau Grand Prix, successfully navigating the challenging circuit to finish third overall.
For the 2020 season, the young driver switched to Prema Racing, recording his first FIA F3 victory in the Feature Race at Silverstone, moving him into the lead of the notoriously competitive championship.
He secured his second win at the infamously challenging Spa-Francorchamps, winning the Sprint Race from third on the grid. Logan finished the year third overall, only missing out on the Championship title by four points.
In 2021, Logan joined Charouz Racing System, returning to FIA Formula 3 for a third season. He finished seventh in the Championship standings, securing one victory at Russia’s Sochi Autodrom.
Logan stepped up to FIA Formula 2 for the final three races of the 2021 season with HWA Racelab, before confirming a permanent seat in the sport for 2022 with Carlin.
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