Why Mercedes once rejected signing Logan Sargeant before he joined Williams

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For Logan Sargeant, the Hungarian and Belgian Grand Prix could be pivotal to his Formula 1 future.

Williams currently sit ninth in the Constructors’ Championship after building a more balanced car compared to 2023, but ultimately a less competitive machine compared to its rivals.

This has left drivers Alex Albon and Logan Sargeant in a difficult position with the team on the back foot from the beginning of pre-season.

Williams haven’t been able to give Albon and Sargeant equal cars and given his superior experience and racecraft, the Thai driver has been preferred whenever an update has been made available.

This was emphasized in Australia when Williams didn’t have a spare chassis and Albon was handed Sargeant’s after he destroyed his beyond repair during practice.

All of this means Sargeant is facing the prospect of being replaced during the mid-season break.

Even if the American driver survives until the end of the campaign, it’s highly unlikely that Sargeant will be on the grid in 2025.

However, speaking on The Race Podcast, journalist Edd Straw has explained that Mercedes were once interested in hiring Sargeant.

Toto Wolff’s team only have a small driver academy and George Russell is the only racer to have ever made their way through the pathway to reach the Mercedes Formula 1 team.

However, Esteban Ocon is still managed by Wolff and racing in F1, while Pascal Wehrlein also made the step up to the paddock.

Kimi Antonelli looks set to be the next driver to complete that journey after reaching Formula 2 at the age of 17.

READ MORE: Everything you need to know about Mercedes AMG F1 Team from team principal to lineage

Why Mercedes rejected chance to sign Logan Sargeant

Straw was comparing how Mercedes and Red Bull scout and hire young drivers and said: “When you consider how Mercedes does it and the detail Mercedes go into with their recruits and also their structuring.

“I remember when they looked at Logan Sargeant for example.

“One of the reasons they didn’t take him, they thought he was pretty good but he didn’t fit in with the age profile of the drivers they had.

“So, they were thinking, ‘Right, we want drivers in this slot, this slot and this slot’, whereas you feel like Helmut Marko would sign someone whether they’re 40 or 14 if they’d caught his eye on track with what they do.”

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Logan Sargeant defeated same-aged Mercedes rival in junior categories

Logan Sargeant is 23, meaning that he would have been competing with Frederik Vesti for a spot in the Mercedes Junior Team.

Sargeant beat Vesti in the 2020 Formula 3 championship, but Vesti got the better of the American the following year.

They only spent one year together in F2, with Sargeant’s impressive run racing for Carlin saw him get the better of Vesti in the ART car.

Vesti then moved to the iconic PREMA team, however, his inability to win the championship has likely ruled him out of ever racing in F1.

Sargeant earned a surprise call-up by Williams for the 2023 F1 season and the rest is history, with the struggles of the team lining up with a young driver who looks like he was promoted slightly too early in his development as a racer.

All this proves is that while Mercedes might feel justified that they didn’t hire Sargeant in the end, his tough time in Formula 1 highlights just how difficult the step up from F2 to the highest level can be.

It shows just what a talent Oscar Piastri is who is the last driver to have won Formula 2 and then thrived on the step up to F1.