‘Faultless’ driver could cancel contract to replace Logan Sargeant at Monza if Williams make offer

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Starting from the back of the grid isn’t an unusual situation for Logan Sargeant this season.

Only Sauber’s Zhou Guanyu has a worse average qualifying position but at the Dutch Grand Prix, the American didn’t even have an opportunity to improve on 20^th place.

The final practice session of the weekend was once again run in difficult conditions with high winds and a wet track to deal with.

Plenty of drivers ran wide at turn one and Nico Hulkenberg’s brake issues appeared unresolved as he broke his front wing early in the session.

But it was Logan Sargeant who brought out the red flag and prevented the rest of the grid from gathering some much-needed data with a huge crash coming out of the banked turn three.

His Williams was destroyed after losing control on the grass and smashing into the barriers and his mechanics were unable to fix the damage before qualifying.

A report from the German outlet Auto Motor und Sport has now revealed details about some potential drivers who could replace Sargeant.

Team principal James Vowles has refused to rule out replacing Sargeant before his contract expires at the end of the season.

Carlos Sainz will replace Sargeant in 2025 and two drivers have already been offered to Williams from a rival team ahead of the Italian Grand Prix.

It’s now believed that if Aston Martin reserve driver Felipe Drugovich or McLaren junior Gabriel Bortoleto were offered the chance to replace Sargeant at Monza then both drivers would break their contracts to take up the role.

Both Brazilians are fighting for a place in F1, but Drugovich should have the advantage based on his superior experience.

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Felipe Drugovich would break his Aston Martin contract to replace Logan Sargeant at Williams

AMuS provide some very interesting details about the process Williams are considering if it’s decided that enough is enough from Sargeant after his most recent costly error.

Vowles would have to speak to Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff before approaching any driver under contract at another team.

That’s presumably because he would like to replace either Kimi Antonelli or Mick Schumacher in the seat if it becomes available.

One option is Liam Lawson who patiently waits to see where he’ll be driving in 2025.

Helmut Marko has said that Lawson will have a race seat but it could be at either RB or Red Bull.

Franco Colapinto impressed in his FP1 test earlier in the year but doesn’t seem to be on the cusp of an F1 promotion.

Bortoleto and Drugovich are both under contract at their current teams but would be ‘out of contract’ if they were offered a Formula 1 seat elsewhere. However, it’s ‘questionable’ whether Williams would swap Sargeant for a rookie.

READ MORE: Williams driver Logan Sargeant’s life outside F1 from height to Donald Trump ties

Felipe Drugovich has already impressed and nearly made his Formula 1 debut last year

After three seasons at Formula 2 level, Drugovich won the series in 2022 before becoming Aston Martin’s reserve driver.

When Lance Stroll injured himself ahead of the series opener last year, it looked like Drugovich was going to be immediately promoted onto the F1 grid.

Team principal Mike Krack spoke ahead of Drugovich’s potential debut in 2023 and said, via RacingNews365: “He’s a very, very reflective and calm person and his approach is also like that.

“The first day he took it really steadily and did all the things that we asked from him perfectly. It was faultless.

“I think if you have watched [on TV], there was not one wheel lock or there was not an apex missed or something like that. So we’re very happy with what he has done.”

It would be a fantastic opportunity for Drugovich who seems to be running out of chances to break into F1.

Drugovich has been linked with Sauber / Audi’s vacant seat for next year but appears to be some way down their shortlist at this stage.

Whoever steps into Sargeant’s seat if he’s dropped will hope they can emulate Nyck de Vries’s performance at Monza in 2022 which briefly earned him an AlphaTauri race seat.