‘We expect’… Will Buxton shares what he thinks will happen with Logan Sargeant’s seat at Williams in 2024

Follow us on Google Discover

Journalist Will Buxton has shared whether he thinks Logan Sargeant will retain his seat at Williams going into the 2024 Formula 1 season.

Buxton was chatting on The Fast and The Curious Podcast immediately after the Las Vegas Grand Prix.

Logan Sargeant became one of the only drivers in Formula 1 history to have three home Grand Prix in one year.

Eddie Cheever achieved that feat in 1982, racing at Long Beach, Detroit and the old track in Las Vegas at Caesars Palace.

The only one time it occurred was during the Covid-affected season in 2020 when Antonio Giovanazzi raced at Monza, Mugello and Imola.

Sargeant was still getting to grips with his new Williams car in Miami, finishing last in his fifth Formula 1 race.

However, his other two outings in the United States have been much more positive, earning his only F1 points in Austin before recording his best result in qualifying this weekend in Las Vegas.

Every seat on the grid for 2024 is now confirmed except for Sargeant’s at Williams and Will Buxton has shared whether he thinks he’ll still be in the sport next year.

He’s been outclassed by his more experienced teammate Alex Albon all season, although he’s admitted to having learned a lot from the Thai driver.

Whether he’s done enough to stay in F1 is yet to be seen and he’ll want to put in a strong performance in Abu Dhabi to end the year on a high.

Buxton shares his thoughts on Sargeant’s future at Williams

Talking about the 22-year-old, Buxton said: “I’ve not given him an easy time in the last few races because if you don’t see an improvement, if you see those same mistakes week in, week out, then you have to ask the question is he good enough?

“There’s no shame in that, there’s no shame in it at all. To be one of the 20 best drivers in the world is something that every driver has in them.

“But I think he was driving so much in his own head and was thinking so much about not making a mistake that he wasn’t natural, he wasn’t free, he wasn’t driving on instinct.

“So, when you’re driving in the conscious part of your brain, everything’s slower and that’s why the car always looked a half-step ahead of him.

“And I think this weekend was case in point. I think he looked it and thought, I’ve got two races left, so screw it, I’m just going to drive.

“He was brilliant all the way through the sessions, the car came to him, the conditions played out well, the Williams loved it. He drove beautifully and he was on par with Alex Albon the whole way through the weekend.

“And that will give him so much confidence now going into Abu Dhabi and hopefully just do the same thing again so he can finish this season on a massive high.

“We expect Williams to resign him for next year and when they do they can look at these last two races and say, that’s why. That’s the guy that we knew was inside him all along.

“I really hope we get to see his full potential as I don’t think we’ve seen it.”

Sargeant needs to kick on in 2024

As Buxton suggests, it would be a surprise now for Williams not to head into next season with Sargeant as Albon’s teammate.

Their other options are starting to run out with Felipe Drugovich confirmed as Aston Martin’s reserve driver for next year.

Alfa Romeo are eyeing a seat in Super Formula for Theo Pourchaire while Ollie Bearman is eyeing 2025 to make his F1 bow.

However, everything is likely to change at the end of next year with plenty of drivers out of contract.

Sargeant needs to improve on this year’s showings to make certain that he’ll have a seat in Formula 1.

Otherwise, there’s a gaggle of young drivers itching to make their mark in the sport.

One such driver is Luke Browning who is already in the Williams academy and just took victory at the famous Macau GP.