Should Williams Stick or Twist with Sargeant?

Formula One is one of the toughest sports in the world. There is the element of danger, the extreme G-forces, and the grilling of the media.

It’s no secret that Logan Sargeant is under a huge amount of pressure to keep his seat for 2024. The last few races have not been great for the American, with crashes in qualifying and a retirement more recently in Japan after a collision with Bottas.

We’ve already seen the swift exit of other rookie Nick De Vries after failing to perform in his first 10 races with Alpha Tauri.

But we’ve also seen the amazing performances of both Oscar Piastri and stand-in Liam Lawson, which don’t look that great for Sargeant, especially when the Williams has been competitive for points for a lot of the year.

What should Williams do, stick or twist?

Should they go with the attractive options of drivers like Mick Schumacher, Felipe Drugovich, or even Lawson (although that seems less likely given his Red Bull promising him a seat for 2025).

Or should Williams gamble on leaving Sargeant in for another year with the hope that a second year proves more fruitful?

I think that answer has partly been addressed with Team Principal James Vowels outlining that he might keep the American for another year.

“We want Sargeant in the car next year,” he stated.

But this is only if Sargeant performs in the last 6 races.

I believe both parties know the internal goals they have for each other, and I think Williams will do everything they can to progress Sargeant to that next level.

Williams wants Sargeant to do well; after all, he is the most recent graduate from the Williams Driver Academy, and I’m sure the American sponsorship and eyeballs will help Williams financially.

Plus, Williams needs stability going forward. Vowels wants progress and results, but he’s smart and knows that he and the team need to be focusing on 2025 and 2026 rather than immediate gains next year.

The team has had a rough time of late, finishing bottom of the table in 4 out of the last 5 seasons, with various financial and personnel changes. Stability will help them progress forward.

Williams is different this year, you can almost taste it. There’s no doubt that Vowels’ culture change method of management is contributing to that and with Alex Albon having one of the best seasons in his career Williams can finally move back toward being competitive.

So, Williams has kept faith in Sargeant so far. Can the rookie prove to Williams that he deserves that seat next year?

The ball is in Logan's court.