AUSTIN, Texas –
An American driver is closing in on Formula One.
Williams reserve driver Logan Sargeant will get a seat for the 2023 season if he earns sufficient tremendous license factors to qualify, crew boss Jost Capito mentioned Saturday forward of the United States Grand Prix.
Sargeant can do this by ending fifth or greater within the F2 feeder collection. He presently stands third, however solely 9 factors separate third from sixth within the standings with one race left in Abu Dhabi.
The 21-year previous Sargeant could be the substitute for Nicholas Latifi subsequent season, and the primary American driver in F1 since Alexander Rossi in 2015.
“We really feel he is able to race,” Capitol mentioned. “And beneath the situation that he has sufficient tremendous license factors after Abu Dhabi he can be our second driver subsequent 12 months.”
Sargeant would leapfrog IndyCar driver and F1 hopeful Colton Herta, who many had focused because the probably subsequent American driver, however has been pissed off by the tremendous license factors course of and hasn’t been in a position to qualify.
American followers and race traders have longed to see an American driver in F1 as the game’s recognition has boomed within the U.S. ESPN and Formula One on Saturday introduced a brand new three-year broadcast rights deal by way of 2025 amid quickly increasing viewership on the community.
“I feel it is nice information,” Red Bull crew principal Christian Horner mentioned of Sargeant’s probability to drive subsequent season.
“The American public is de facto engaged in Formula One. We want an American driver. And not solely a driver, however a profitable one as effectively,” Horner mentioned.
Sargeant drove the primary follow on Friday for Williams, and the crew introduced he’ll get two extra follow classes in Mexico City subsequent week and on the season finale in Abu Dhabi. Both classes might assist him earn factors towards incomes his license to race F1.