Williams must pick the best line-up in 2024 and go on without Sargeant

Logan Sargeant's contract has still not been renewed, so the question remains about who will get that last F1 seat. Will Williams stick with their own pupil, or will they be tempted by a better alternative after all? GPblog lists all the points.

Why Williams should extend Sargeant's contract

Money is perhaps the most important factor in Logan Sargeant's longer stay. The young American driver's nationality ensures Williams has access to three major US sponsors: Gulf, Kraken and Stephens. These deals were announced, not entirely coincidentally, at the same time as Sargeant's arrival. Will they stay even if Sargeant has to leave?

Besides, Sargeant is also a junior at the in-house Williams Driver Academy. The team has continuously hammered on the fact that they want to give their own talents a chance and, with that, confidence. Sargeant has been unable to test a similar amount of mileage as Oscar Piastri did before his entrance into F1, so it makes sense that the American will need more time to settle in.

With his qualifying in Las Vegas, Sargeant did show that he has improved over the year. He finally managed to win his first point in America, moving him off the hateful zero.

Also, there is no obvious better alternative available to Williams beforehand. Most drivers eligible for Sargeant's seat have also not yet proven to be very strong drivers in F1. So replacing Sargeant will not necessarily provide an immediate improvement either.

Why Williams should say goodbye to Sargeant

Although Sargeant has improved through the year, it must be stated that he has not yet qualified ahead of Alexander Albon or finished ahead of the Thai in the race on a single occasion. With that, he has not shown the potential required to stay in F1. The distance to Albon is too great, even for a team like Williams.

In the battle for seventh place in the constructors' championship, Williams leaned entirely on Albon in 2023. In 2024, that will be trickier when AlphaTauri, with Daniel Ricciardo and Yuki Tsunoda, have two experienced drivers for the duration. With Sargeant, Williams clearly have a weak spot in the team. He has improved himself but is still very far from his teammate.

Williams has ambitions to return to the top. While it is nice that Williams wants to give their own talent a chance, reality must also be considered. Drivers propel a team forward, and Sargeant cannot do that (yet). He struggles too much with himself. Talent shows immediately. Yes, Piastri was able to drive more before his debut, but he is visibly much better than Sargeant against a perhaps better teammate. Even Liam Lawson, who just had to fill in at AlphaTauri, scored even earlier and more points than Sargeant in an entire season at Williams.

Sargeant seems to be struggling too much with the mental aspect of F1. Before the summer break, the American looked jaded, broken from all the criticism he faced and the pressure on his shoulders. In Abu Dhabi, the American again made a stricken impression.

Sargeant also costs too much money. Although he attracts a lot of American sponsors, he also creates a huge cost from all of his crashes. Williams are in the best position to weigh up how this compares, but the American's number of crashes this year have been too many to end up with a positive balance.

Who could replace Sargeant at Williams

If Williams decides to replace Sargeant, who the team will choose will be interesting. Frederik Vesti has been tentatively linked to Williams. The Dane is part of the Mercedes Junior Academy and finished second in the F2 championship. The bond between Mercedes and Williams is good, but is the Dane really an upgrade over Sargeant?

Mick Schumacher from Mercedes' stable would be a more logical choice. The German spent a year on the sidelines as Mercedes' reserve but would be only too happy to get back into an F1 car. For 2024, he signed for Alpine's WEC programme, but speaking to GPblog and others, the German already revealed that those contracts clearly state that he could go straight to F1 if a seat becomes available.

Felipe Drugovich has also been linked to Williams. The Brazilian made a strong impression alongside Lance Stroll in the first free practice for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix and was even faster than the Canadian. Drugovich now has a deal to remain a reserve at Aston Martin through 2024 but would naturally aspire to a seat at Williams. Drugovich became the F2 champion in 2022, ahead of that year's number four, Logan Sargeant.

As F2 champion, Theo Pourchaire is also looking for a seat for 2024. Preferably in F1, but with a reserve role at Sauber, the Frenchman is now looking at opportunities in Super Formula. Pourchaire finished second in the 2022 F2 championship to win the title this season. Even with him, though, the question is whether a move to F1 would immediately yield much better performance than Sargeant as a driver.

Williams could also revert to Nyck de Vries. De Vries' F1 career soon ended at AlphaTauri but could be an interesting replacement for Sargeant as an F2 and FE champion. However, with deals finalised in the WEC (Toyota) and Formula E (Mahindra), it does not seem that the Dutchman is set on F1 just yet.

Should Williams stick with Sargeant?

It is a difficult situation for Williams. Logan Sargeant is a friendly lad from their own training programme. He is well-liked within the team. In addition, he brings in a lot of money with sponsors from America. Yet there are also plenty of drawbacks. Above all, the young driver's speed, but also his many crashes and the fact that he has not shown once over the year that he could beat Albon.

Based on performance, you would say Williams should get a replacement, but the options for that are limited. Pourchaire, Drugovich and Schumacher are the most obvious names, but are they the golden egg compared to Sargeant?

The Williams seat does not seem available for a multi-year deal at all. With up-and-coming Mercedes talent Andrea Kimi Antonelli in F2 in 2024, there is a chance the Italian could be promoted to F1 in 2025 if he has a good season. With James Vowles as team principal, Williams are in a place where Mercedes will only be too happy to let their talent mature, and Williams will never say 'no' to such a huge talent.

Still, Williams should do everything possible to put together the best possible line-up for 2024. Albon is the leader; an equivalent driver must also come in if the team is to strike through in 2024. It does not look like Sargeant is capable of that. Pourchaire and Drugovich would deserve the chance after their F2 titles, just as Schumacher also deserves a fair chance again after his time at Haas. Given Schumacher's experience, the German has an edge, also because he won the F2 title after two seasons, whereas the other two did so after three years.