F1 dream almost derailed by IndyCar chance - new Williams driver Logan Sargeant

Logan Sargeant, Williams, United States GP, 2022 — Photo: © LAT Images

Williams - Logan Sargeant

F1 dream almost derailed by IndyCar chance - Sargeant

Sargeant has been confirmed as Albon's Williams team-mate for 2023

Sam Hall

Saturday 5 November 2022 15:30

Williams 2023 F1 driver Logan Sargeant has revealed how he came close to giving up on racing in Europe due to a possible IndyCar opportunity.

Sargeant was recently confirmed as Alex Albon's new team-mate - pending required superlicence points - in a move that will see him become the first American driver to compete in F1 since Alexander Rossi in 2015.

The American has explained, however, that when financial problems struck in 2020, he was forced to choose between a potential IndyCar drive or a less-than-favourable F3 seat, with the former an option that would have limited his potential ability to reach F1.

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"The end of 2020, it was my best season at that point but it wasn’t looking great," said Sargeant.

"You always keep the faith and the hope, but we didn’t really have a great direction of where we wanted to go.

“We did have some opportunities to do some sports cars and GTs and even a possible IndyCar seat, but the F3 thing was there and it was the chance to stay in Europe.

“To be honest, I was quite tentative about taking that deal but I had a great support team around me between my parents, my brother, my trainer, and they all pushed me to take that challenging opportunity and make the most of it.”

Although confirmed for 2023, the announcement at the United States Grand Prix was made with the caveat that Sargeant must successfully attain the required number of points to obtain a superlicence.

This was not helped in Mexico by a pair of red flags that limited the American's running, seeing him fall short of the distance required to gain a further point.

If Sargeant can achieve a clean session in Abu Dhabi, he needs only to finish fifth in the F2 standings. With one weekend to go, he is third and 12-points clear of this marker.