Photo by Clive Rose – Formula 1/Formula 1 via Getty Images
With Williams announcing that Carlos Sainz Jr. will join the team next season, what is next for F1’s only American driver?
In the Rainbow Room in early February, Logan Sargeant looked me in the eyes and told me what a successful 2024 Formula 1 season would look like for him. “It’s always one of the hardest questions at the start of the year because we don’t know where we’re going to be as a team. So I’m going to leave that out of it because, you know, we’ll ultimately find that out in Bahrain,” said Sargeant to me and the rest of the assembled media that February day.
“But, personally, it’s quite simple. I want to make a big step forward from a personal aspect. I want to perform consistently over the course of a season at the level I know I can perform at,” continued Sargeant.
“And if I do that, that’ll be a big success.”
To hear Sargeant describe his performance this season, as well as Williams Team Principal James Vowles, this has been a successful year using those standards. The second-year driver has been more consistent this year, and is coming off two-straight qualifying performances that saw him place ahead of Sergio Pérez, who finished second in the Drivers’ Championship a year ago.
Speaking during the Miami Grand Prix, Sargeant described that week of driving as the most comfortable he has felt in a Formula 1 car. “And I feel like, I mean, jumping in FP1 this weekend is the most comfortable I felt all year and I feel like I was straight away on it,” described Sargeant to the media, including SB Nation, in Miami. “And if I look since Australia, I feel like it’s been going relatively well, from Japan, getting almost everything out of it.
“Of course, China was disappointing. But again, here today, I feel like I did a good job. Just looking for that last tenth, but nonetheless, just enjoying it, being home and, and keep delivering the best I can.”
But while Sargeant has made progress, it has not been enough.
And now, Williams is going in a different direction.
The team announced on Monday that they have reached agreement on a contract with Carlos Sainz Jr., starting next season. Having already announced a new multi-year deal with Alexander Albon, that means that Sargeant is now on the outside looking it at Williams.
And perhaps in F1 altogether.
What could be next for the American driver?
Another F1 seat?
Could Sargeant somehow land a seat with another team?
While that might seem unlikely, given how things have ended at Williams, it is a theoretical possibility. As outlined above Sargeant has made progress this season, and while it might not have been enough to save his seat at Williams, there are still teams with open spots for 2025.
Those teams include Alpine, Haas, and Sauber, ahead of that team becoming the Audi works operation in 2026.
Alpine has already announced that Esteban Ocon will be leaving at the end of 2024, and current reports indicate that the team is hoping to retain Pierre Gasly for 2025, perhaps pairing him with Jack Doohan, the team’s current reserve driver. Mick Schumacher, who competes for Alpine in the World Endurance Championship, is also an option, along with other current drivers who are competing on expiring contracts.
As for Haas, with Nico Hülkenberg moving to Sauber for next season there is at least one open spot. There are expectations that the team will tap current reserve — and Ferrari super-sub — Ollie Bearman for one seat next year, perhaps pairing him with a veteran driver. Would that be Kevin Magnussen? Or perhaps Ocon? Or maybe Sargeant?
As for Sauber, with Hülkenberg already signed for one seat the team could look to retain one of their two current drivers (Valtteri Bottas or Zhou Guanyu), but Sargeant could be under consideration there.
However, this does seem like the least-likely path for Sargeant at the moment.
A move to IndyCar?
Could Sargeant follow in the footsteps of other drivers, and carve out a name for himself in IndyCar?
The IndyCar field is set to expand to 29 teams for next season, following the announcement that Italian team Prema Racing will field two cars full-time in the series in 2025. While many of those seats are solidified for next season, there could be some open spots for Sargeant. And a move to IndyCar might be a tremendous opportunity for Sargeant, and he drove for Prema Racing back in 2020, when he placed third in the F3 Championship.
Could Prema make a splash move by adding an American driver to their lineup as they join the IndyCar grid?
The pairing seems to make a bit of sense, and has gained some support over the past week with reports surfacing that Sargeant may have already put pen to paper on a deal with Prema to move to IndyCar with them next season.
Could Sargeant move to the WEC?
While a move to IndyCar could be an option for Sargeant — a likely path given recent reports and one that sees him follow a path many former F1 drivers have followed — he could also take a similar path drivers such as Nyck de Vries and Mick Schumacher have followed recently, and make the move to the World Endurance Championship.
After losing his seat at AlphaTauri (now Visa Cash App RB F1 Team) De Vries returned to the WEC world, and is driving for Toyota Gazoo Racing this season. The team is coming off a second-place finish at last weekend’s 24 Hours of Le Mans.
As for Schumacher, in addition to his reserve driver role with Mercedes he joined Alpine’s entry in the WEC. While they endured a disappointing weekend at Le Mans, that has kept Schumacher’s name near the top of the potential options to replace Ocon at Alpine next season.
Taking the pulse of the fans
Thanks to the growing community of fans on “F1 Threads” I conducted a little more … let’s just describe it as “research” this week. I put Sargeant’s options for 2025 to a vote. The four options? Staying in F1, a move to IndyCar, a move to the WEC, and “other,” where respondents were prompted to submit their suggestion.
And a move to IndyCar was the overwhelming response.
Out of 191 responses 81% of them — or 155 voters — selected IndyCar as Sargeant’s next destination:
For those reading this on Apple News, the results on Threads can be viewed here.
Returning to that February in New York City, James Vowles stated that we would see a much more confident Sargeant this season. Again, that has largely been the case, but it was not enough to keep him at Williams.
But that confidence should serve him well at his next stop, wherever that is.
