Who is Logan Sargeant? F1's new US star profiled

Sam Hall
Monday 6 February 2023 08:55 - Updated: 08:55

Logan Sargeant will become America's first full-time F1 driver since 2007 when he lines up on the grid to begin the Bahrain Grand Prix in March.

The presence of America in F1 has grown significantly in recent years with the Circuit of the Americas joined on last season's calendar by Miami. The pair will be further boosted by the addition of the Las Vegas Grand Prix this term.

These additions and the surge in popularity in the United States meant that it was seemingly only a matter of time before Scott Speed was succeeded as the most recent full-time American driver to compete.

Although Alexander Rossi completed five races for Manor Marussia in 2015, he switched to drive in IndyCar the following year.

So who is Williams' newest star?

Sargeant's junior career

Sargeant was born on December 31, 2000, in Fort Lauderdale and endured a mixed junior career as he progressed through the ranks to F1.

The American made his single-seater debut in the Formula 4 UAE Championship in the winter of 2016-17.

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Despite failing to win a race, a consistent presence on the podium meant he ended the year second overall.

Sargeant continued his development in the British F4 championship that year and ended the season third overall behind Jamie Caroline and new McLaren driver, Oscar Piastri.

A stunning switch to the Formula Renault Eurocup followed in 2018 with Sargeant scoring his first win in his debut race. He would end the year fourth overall and second in the rookie competition behind Christian Lundgaard.

The following years did little to boost hopes of progression to F1 with Sargeant racing in F3 for the seasons on the bounce.

A distinctly average debut year was followed by an impressive third-place finishing in the drivers' standings in 2020.

But this could not be followed up with a planned move to F2 with financial limitations forcing Sargeant into a third, less successful F3 campaign.

Sargeant did, however, make his F2 debut at the 2021 season-ending event in Abu Dhabi and made the full-time switch for the next season where a pair of feature race wins at Silverstone and the Red Bull Ring proved sufficient to place him fourth in the overall standings.

READ MORE: Sargeant reveals F1 number selection

This guaranteed the super licence points required for his move into F1.

Sargeant and Williams

Sargeant joined the Williams Driver Academy in 2021 at the United States Grand Prix when he was still racing in F3.

Shortly after, the American got his first taste of F1 machinery when he got behind the wheel of the FW43B at the post-season test in Abu Dhabi.

Sargeant made his debut in an official F1 session almost exactly a year after joining the Williams set-up when he took to the track in FP1 at the Circuit of the Americas.

It was also on this weekend that he was announced provisionally as the team's replacement for Nicholas Latifi for 2023. At the time, this was subject to the driver securing the relevant super licence points.

In order to assist Sargeant to reach the points tally required, Williams fielded the driver in FP1 at each of the subsequent races, something that gained him one additional point provided he achieved a clean session and completed 100 kilometres of running.

Sargeant will run the number two this year, a denomination last fielded by Stoffel Vandoorne during his time with McLaren.

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