Sargeant has nothing to prove to anyone after his Formula 1 stint

Finding Proton Competition’s garage isn’t easy; this season it essentially serves as Ford’s GT factory team. It is set up at the very start of the pit lane in Imola, Italy, completely separate from the main pit building, where the opening weekend of the World Endurance Championship (WEC) is taking place.

With a bit of imagination, you can draw a comparison with Logan Sargeant, who returns to a world championship this weekend after being sidelined by Williams during the 2024 Formula 1 season in the summer. Since then, the American seemed to have vanished from the face of the earth. “Last two years? Sitting on the beach relaxing," Sargeant tells GPblog in his first interview as a WEC driver.

Anyone following Sargeant on social media during that period might have gotten the impression the American would not return to racing. Asked about that, he says: “I always figured I would, but I was just going to let my mind naturally take its course and go where it wanted to go. If it didn't want to, then I wouldn't have. But, of course, just naturally, that's where it went back to, which is what I assumed."

With a clear head and a new manager, interest in Sargeant quickly picked up. The move to endurance racing was a logical one, the American believes. “The only other option was really IndyCar, and I wasn't too interested in doing that. I spent some time in endurance paddock in the past, in 2021.

Two successful IMSA races (the American counterpart to WEC) followed, and not long after came the contract with Ford. This season, Sargeant is driving in all eight WEC rounds in a roaring Ford Mustang, completely different machinery from what he was used to in recent years.

“It's very different, that's for sure. I mean, I'm used to driving high-downforce cars, LMP2s. I haven't driven a hypercar, but I assume that's closer to a prototype feel. Truthfully, it's enjoyable. It's a fun car to drive, very difficult and different," Sargeant says.

Next season, Sargeant will be one of Ford’s full-time drivers in the hypercar class. “Testing obviously starts at some point this year on that. This year is really just understanding WEC, understanding the championship, getting on all the tracks and being as prepared as we can be for next year.”

And all of that without putting pressure on himself. “I have no interest doing 24 races a year, that's for sure," the American laughs, who says he doesn’t feel the need to prove himself to outsiders who were often critical during his F1 days. “Not at all. What is there to prove?