F1 Rumor: Logan Sargeant linked with step down to IndyCar (7th Update)
(GMM) Logan Sargeant, recently ousted by Williams mid-season, looks set to face at least a year on the sidelines in 2025.
That is despite the fact that the IndyCar team Meyer Shank Racing published new photos of the American driver undergoing a seat fitting ahead of a forthcoming test.
Sargeant, 23, will test the IndyCar next Tuesday.
“Logan’s manager is also George Russell’s manager,” team co-owner Michael Shank said, “and I got to know him through (family friend) Oswaldo (Negri) really well, too.
“He’s always stayed in touch just to keep an eye out and keep watching.”
However, Shank has no vacant race cockpit to offer Sargeant for 2025.
“I think when it all came down and his deal went away at Williams, I thought ‘Well, this guy is a super license holder and did really well enough, let’s just see where this puts us’,” he said.
“We tested Nyck de Vries a few years ago for the same reason,” Shank added. “Now I know what Nyck is.
“In this case, I don’t have anything for him (Sargeant) for 2025, but I always have it in the back of my head if we got into a trouble spot and we wanted to try someone, we have a person that we can go to immediately.
“I think it’s just a rare opportunity to get to test someone who I think has some potential. You never know.
November 12, 2024
Logan Sargeant is getting ready for his first IndyCar test with Meyer Shank Racing. Assuming all goes well, look for Sargeant to restart his career in IndyCar in 2025 after being sacked by the Williams F1 team.
See you in thermal @LoganSargeant ✌🏻 pic.twitter.com/77AlnjMXPa
— Meyer Shank Racing (@MeyerShankRac) November 12, 2024
September 25, 2024
(GMM) Logan Sargeant could kick-start his stalled motor racing career in IndyCar as he prepared for his first IndyCar test.
The 23-year-old American’s 37-grand prix career in Formula 1 ended after the Dutch GP one month ago, when Williams replaced him with Franco Colapinto.
The Meyer Shank IndyCar outfit announced this week that Sargeant will test for the team at the private Thermal Club track in California in November.
Sargeant struggled to shine in Formula 1 since making his debut last year, but James Vowles – the Williams boss who decided to drop him – insists he has strengths (but zero oval track experience).
“One of the strengths that’s underrated in his regard is he has a huge mental resilience,” he said recently.
“He takes a punishment in the media – in the world, really – almost weekend on weekend. But when it comes the following weekend, he’s cleared his mind of that.
“It’s not that he hasn’t progressed. I think he’s matured a lot as a driver. He’s able to deal with the pressure and what comes at you much, much better.
“We have to remember that we have the top 20 drivers in the world fundamentally competing on a world stage. And he’s ending up something akin to a few tenths off. And that’s not a large amount,” Vowles added.
“That still puts you in good stead for the remainder of the world.”
September 22, 2024
Former F1 driver Logan Sargeant is set to test at Thermal Club (or Barber Motorsports Park) for Meyer Shank Racing in November.
Sargeant was fired from F1 by Williams for being too slow. His replacement, Franco Colapinto, is doing things with the Williams F1 car Sargeant was never capable of doing.
September 15, 2024
We spotted American racing driver Logan Sargeant in Nashville this weekend, just before the Big Machine Music City Grand Prix at Nashville Superspeedway. His presence comes amid speculation that he might join the IndyCar series following his recent demotion from Formula 1.
Williams Racing parted ways with Sargeant after a crash during the first practice session in Zandvoort, which was the last straw for team principal James Vowles. The young driver was sacked and replaced by Franco Colapinto starting from the Italian Grand Prix.
Already Colapinto has reached Q3 and scored points in only his 2nd race, underscoring the fact that Sargeant never really had the talent for F1.
Sargeant never out qualified his teammate Albon in two years and never made it to Q3. Colapinto has already done that.
July 5, 2024
Prema Racing team principal Rene Rosin has confirmed that he’s had talks with Williams ‘too slow for Formula 1’ racer Logan Sargeant about stepping down to IndyCar next year with his new IndyCar team.
June 24, 2024
More to this rumor – we are hearing that Sargeant may drive for Italian F2 team Prema in 2025, as they announced plans to enter IndyCar as a new team starting next year.
June 24, 2024
(GMM) Logan Sargeant looks set to be the next Formula 1 driver to make the shift down to America’s top open wheeler series, IndyCar.
The entire F1 paddock is now basically unanimous that the struggling 23-year-old Floridian will almost certainly be replaced by someone like Carlos Sainz Jr., Valtteri Bottas or even rookie Kimi Antonelli for 2025.
Related Article: F1 News: American Sargeant waiting to be sacked by Williams
And now, motor racing writer and author Jeroen Demmendaal said he has heard in IndyCar circles that Sargeant will “most likely” end up in the US-based series next year.
“A formal announcement on Sargeant should come in July, before the summer break,” he speculated.
Sargeant would join other ex-F1 stars who couldn’t cut it in F1 including Marcus Ericsson, Alexander Rossi, Romain Grosjean, Takuma Sato and other well-known names on the IndyCar scene.
He had a particularly difficult weekend in Barcelona, despite having declared that he has finally been given a car with the full Alex Albon-upgrade specification.
“Unfortunately, the cars weren’t the same spec in the end,” Sargeant revealed on Sunday. “The floors that we brought are underperforming which is a shame.
“It’s not great for me or the team, and none of us want to be in this position,” he added. “We’ll keep fighting no matter the situation.”