Logan Sargeant will make his F1 debut in 2023 (Photo: Getty)
Logan Sargeant is set to become the first American Formula One driver for seven years after his seat at Williams for 2023 was confirmed.
The news was accidentally dropped by Williams team principal Jost Capito during a Saturday press-conference at the United States Grand Prix.
No official announcement can be made yet however, as Sargeant does not yet have enough superlicense points to race in F1, though he is likely to achieve this at the Formula 2 finale in Abu Dhabi.
Long tipped for F1, Sargeant is a member of the team’s academy programme and took part in first practice at the Circuit of the Americas on Friday.
On Saturday evening, Williams confirmed that the 21-year-old would be taking part in further practice sessions in Mexico and Abu Dhabi, before Capito dropped the bombshell.
‘We feel he is ready to race [in F1] and under the condition he has enough superlicense points after Abu Dhabi, he will be our second driver next season,’ Capito revealed.
‘I’m a big fan of getting young drivers through as quickly as possible, because in the series below Formula One the cars are very different, so get him in and find out if he’s capable of staying in Formula One for a long time but we believe he is.
Sargeant took part in FP1 for Williams at the US Grand Prix (Photo: Getty)
‘This was his first year in F2 and he won races and he has been qualifying very strong in all his years of his career so we believe he is ready.’
Sargeant will replace Nicholas Latifi, whose departure from Williams was confirmed earlier this season after three, mostly poor, seasons with the team.
He will be teammates with Alex Albon after the former Red Bull driver penned a new multi-year contract with the British outfit, who sit last in the standings.
Since the turn of the century, only two Americans have raced in F1, namely Scott Speed and Alexander Rossi, and Sargeant will make his debut at a time where the sport’s popularity stateside is at a record-high, with the USA set to host three races in 2023.
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He will replace Nicholas Latifi.