Commercial Director at Williams: 'Focus on US fans'

In Logan Sargeant, Williams have an American driver this season. For the British team, moving the youngster from Formula 2 to Formula 1 could be seen as a publicity stunt, as F1's popularity in the US is skyrocketing.

Commercial director James Bower is well aware that F1 is booming in the United States, he replied to a question from GPblog. "I think clearly as you'll all be aware, there's a huge growth and momentum in Formula 1 in America, beyond anything you can see in the broadcast numbers and data."

An important role for Sargeant

With Sargeant, there is a driver to appeal to these new, American fans. The more interest from the US, the more interesting the team is for US companies. Oil group Gulf - which has tied up with Williams - is a good example. "Logan has been a key component in increasing how attractive we are as a partnership to brands in North America, not only that, we are the only team to have an office in New York with the fan engagement team based there with expertise that provides a lot of values. Also a lot of our fan engagement is very US-focused as well. it's a combination of a number of components that are reinforced by the appointment of Logan, which we are extremely excited about."

No doubt, then, the presence of an American played a part in Gulf's decision to sponsor Williams. However, the team will not drive in the oil company's unique colours, something other teams have done in the past. Perhaps that will come during the season? "That would be a very nice touch, but we'll have to wait and see," Sargeant responded.