Mick Schumacher is left with the role of reserve driver in Formula 1. Formula 2 driver Logan Sargeant secures the important points in the season finale in order to be able to compete in the premier class next year. This means that both regular drivers for 2023 are now also available at Williams as the last F1 team.
The American Logan Sargeant made the last step towards Formula 1 with an inconspicuous appearance and thus slammed the door for Mick Schumacher at the Williams racing team. The 21-year-old finished fifth in the main race at the Formula 2 season finale in Abu Dhabi, while Sargeant ended the season fourth overall.
He gets the remaining missing points for the so-called super license, the starting permission for Formula 1. Williams had declared this to be the last requirement. Sargeant thus occupies the last free cockpit for 2023 and will drive alongside Alex Albon for the traditional team.
For Schumacher, who did not receive a new contract with Haas for 2023, the last Formula 2 race was of great relevance: at Williams he would have been a hot candidate for the regular cockpit if Sargeant had not qualified for the premier class. Now all places in the starting field are taken. A realistic option for Schumacher is a place as a reserve driver for the top team Mercedes.
Sargeant had started from sixth place, but things got tricky at the start of the race when his Carlin team-mate Liam Lawson (New Zealand) pushed him off the track. But Sargeant stayed in the running and was no longer in serious danger. Pole setter Ayumu Iwasa (Dams) won the final race of the year. The Brazilian Felipe Drugovich (MP Motorsport) had secured the Formula 2 title since September.
Sargeant thus moves up to the highest category right after his first full season in the Formula 1 substructure. He has been part of the Williams Driver Academy since 2021, and he has not yet won a title in single-seater racing. Sargeant is the first US driver in Formula 1 since Alexander Rossi, who contested some races for the backbench team Manor in 2015. The premier class has wanted a stronger presence on the American market for years.
