One camera shot showed Williams were ‘fed up’ with Logan Sargeant before they hired Franco Colapinto

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Logan Sargeant’s Formula 1 career may be over after Williams dropped him for Franco Colapinto. The American expected to complete another nine races, but James Vowles has seen enough.

Sargeant crashed in the final practice session for the Dutch Grand Prix last weekend. As a result of the damage, he wasn’t able to take part in qualifying.

He finished Sunday’s race in 16th place, two spots below teammate Alex Albon. Vowles praised him for his defensive effort as he kept Yuki Tsunoda and Kevin Magnussen behind.

But privately, the team boss was already in discussions with his counterparts over taking on a reserve driver. Red Bull wanted the right to recall Liam Lawson, which scuppered that deal, and Mick Schumacher’s World Endurance Championship commitments were a complicating factor too.

In the end, Vowles decided to trust his academy by promoting Colapinto. The Argentine will make his Formula 1 debut at Monza this weekend.

Colapinto is currently fifth in the F2 championship with one victory to his name. Sargeant finished fourth in 2022 before he graduated to the top tier.

Williams’ mechanics looked ‘done’ with Logan Sargeant after Dutch Grand Prix crash

Speaking on ESPN’s Unlapped podcast, journalist Nate Saunders recalled one particular camera shot that spelt trouble for Sargeant. The 23-year-old ran wide on the exit of turn three on Saturday morning and spun into the barriers, with his car subsequently catching fire.

Martin Brundle said Sargeant’s crash was ‘strange’ in that he ‘kept his foot in’ after touching the grass rather than backing out of it. After previous shunts in Japan and Canada, he added to his repair bills.

To make matters worse, Williams had just bolted on a series of new parts onto his car. Sargeant was one of three drivers who hadn’t scored a point all year alongside the Sauber duo.

One replay of the accident showed multiple Williams mechanics with their heads in their hands. Saunders suspected that they were ‘done’ with Sargeant, and conversations with team members afterwards confined that.

He said: “That crash of Sargeant’s, with so many upgrades on the car… the first shot of that after he crashed was all of the mechanics who had just been working so hard to improve that team’s fortunes. You knew that they were just fed up and they were done with it. I spoke to people at the team who said similar.”

Logan Sargeant’s final interview answer before he lost his seat to Franco Colapinto

Vowles said Sargeant was at risk of losing his seat even before Carlos Sainz arrived at the end of the season. He needed to continuously prove his worth.

Williams had already taken a chance by sticking with the youngster after a difficult rookie year. But their confidence and patience has run out.

With an upgrade on the car, the Grove outfit will hope to challenge Alpine – currently nine points ahead – for P8 in the standings. And they clearly believe dropping Sargeant for Colapinto maximises their chances.

Sargeant seemed relaxed about his future when he spoke to reporters after the race. He told them he ‘could care less’ about the rumours, pointing out that they’d followed him throughout the season.