Formula 1 has gained tremendous popularity worldwide, including in the United States. Despite this, the country, which has three Grands Prix on the programme this year (Miami, Austin and Las Vegas) still has an awful lot to gain. Logan Sargeant, as the first American driver in a long time, should contribute to that, but Christian Horner doubts that the newly-minted Williams driver can succeed.

Horner does not think Sargeant is the key to increasing Formula 1's popularity in the United States. According to the Red Bull team boss, it is because the 22-year-old driver is not good enough for the premier class of motorsport, but mainly because he will be driving at Williams and is not as unique as Max Verstappen.

Can Sargeant impress?

"Imagine if there was an American Max Verstappen. What we need is a young, talented, competitive American driver. It’s great to have him there and he’s a talented young guy [but] he’s going to be limited in what he can do,” Horner said, with regard to Williams’ last place finish in the 2022 constructors championship.

Speaking to The Post , Horner goes on to say that the problem is that it does not appeal to people when a compatriot finishes 14th or 15th week in week out. "I think if he was fighting at the front in a competitive car, then you’d see [something like] what happened with Fernando [Alonso] in Spain, or Checo [Perez] and the reaction in Mexico,” Horner went on, referencing drivers whose success drastically boosted the popularity of F1 in their home countries. So that’s what we need: an American driver fighting for victories and World Championships."

Last season, Sargeant finished fourth with 148 points in his first full season in Formula 2. That was enough to convince Williams to put him in the car for 2023 as Nicholas Latifi's replacement.