Logan Sargeant will have to sit out the first free practice session for the British GP on Friday. As Williams announced today, Sargeant’s vehicle will be driven by Formula 2 driver Franco Colapinto around the Silverstone Circuit. The 21-year-old Argentinian will make his official Formula 1 debut next weekend. Colapinto drove a Formula 1 car for the first time when he completed the Young Driver Test after the season finale in Abu Dhabi in 2023 in the Williams FW45.
According to the regulations, Formula 1 teams are required to use a rookie in at least two FP1 sessions during the season. A well-known track like Silverstone is particularly suitable for this, as the racing teams can draw on a large amount of data collected from previous years. For the regular driver, the loss of an hour of training time is easier to cope with here.
Who is Williams’ young talent?
Franco Colapinto has been part of Williams Racing’s junior program since last year and will be driving his first Formula 2 season with MP Motorsport in 2024. In the previous two years, the Williams junior started in Formula 3 and finished 9th in the championship standings in 2022 and 4th in 2023. In Formula 2, he is currently in 5th place in the championship. His greatest successes include victory in the sprint race in Imola and two second places in the main races in Barcelona and Spielberg.
Now he is making his debut at a Grand Prix weekend in the premier class. “I’m very excited and it’s a very important moment in my life and my career,” said Colapinto. The young driver promises to prepare for this opportunity as well as possible: “I’ll do a lot of laps in the simulator and study the details of this year’s car. I’m really looking forward to getting to know the new car.”
Logan Sargeant out of Williams?
From the second free practice session, Sargeant will return to the car for the rest of the weekend in Great Britain. In recent weeks, however, there has been a lot of speculation about how long the American will be allowed to keep his Williams seat. For most in the F1 paddock, it is almost certain that he will be replaced for 2025. However, there have also been rumors that Colapinto’s F2 colleague and Mercedes star Andrea Kimi Antonelli could replace Sargeant at Williams as early as the 2024 season.
Looking for a replacement for Sargeant Williams team boss James Vowles recently courted Carlos Sainz. It seems that the British racing team is primarily looking for an experienced driver. But the team may also want to assess Colapinto’s skills and potential first-hand in order to sort out the driver decision for 2025.