Williams have confirmed Logan Sargeant will drive in Formula 1 practice for the third event in a row this weekend at the Brazilian Grand Prix.
Following his first practice runs on Fridays at the United States and Mexican grands prix, Sergeant will drive in Saturday’s second practice session at Interlagos. He will take over the car of his intended 2023 team mate, Alexander Albon.The Formula 2 star has been signed by Williams to race in F1 next year but is yet to secure an FIA superlicence.
Completing 100 kilometres in F1 practice sessions can earn additional superlicence points. However Sargeant fell short of reaching the required distance in the disrupted opening practice session in Mexico two weeks ago.
“I’m looking forward to getting back in the FW44 for FP2 in Sao Paulo,” said Sargeant. “I can’t wait to keep progressing with the team and building on the experience I gained in Austin and Mexico City.
“To be given the opportunity to drive at such an iconic track like Interlagos with its banked corners and the Senna S is a great feeling. A massive thank you once again to everyone at Williams for giving me another chance to get behind the wheel.”
After his FP2 outing, Sergeant will be back in one of Williams’ cars at Yas Marina Circuit at the end of the month as he will drive in FP1 at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix and also in the post-season test at the circuit.
Williams’ head of vehicle performance Dave Robson explained why Sargeant will run in FP2 this weekend.
“This is unusual for a sprint event and is more difficult than usual as Alex’s car will be in parc ferme during FP2,” he said. “However, the experience that Logan will get is invaluable, and giving him another opportunity is a good investment in his future.
“He did an excellent job in Austin and Mexico City and we are confident that he will do so again despite the unusual weekend format.”
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Nitin Patel (@nitin24)
9th November 2022, 17:05
I wonder why they wouldn’t give him Latifi’s seat…must be a sponsorship thing?
Pedro
9th November 2022, 21:39
That…and also he does not have yet a super license
Jere (@jerejj)
10th November 2022, 14:19
@Pedro His SL situation is entirely irrelevant to which regular driver he replaces for a practice session.
BasCB (@bascb)
10th November 2022, 14:50
I am pretty sure they make arrangements / deals with the drivers to ensure fair treatment (as part of the contract with them) @nitin24. they don’t want to give Latifi any opening for legal action.
What you say is true Pedro, but that is exactly the reason why he gets this session – since last race weekend he was unable to get enough km in to get that SL point, they want to make up for that here, to help him secure the points for next year.
NS Biker (@rekibsn)
10th November 2022, 5:24
The Saturday pre-sprint practice for license points almost makes sense.
In this case it is just for mileage and the lament we have heard from the drivers and teams is that the pre-sprint practice is a bit of a waste. The cars are in Parc Ferme conditions and there is no opportunity to make changes. So long as there is no damage to the car, not much lost and for Sargeant, a big gain.
Gaming the system a bit, but heck, why not.
Fixy
10th November 2022, 9:26
I think it’s the post-sprint practice session that makes no sense to teams. At that point cars are in parc-fermé, have already earned their starting grid position for the Grand Prix and completed the sprint race. The first free practice, on the other hand, is more important than at events without the sprint as it’s the only session to test setups before they are locked in place.
Fixy
10th November 2022, 9:31
Sorry, I messed that up! Yes, it’s the pre-sprint practice session, but I was under the impression Sargeant was going to drive in FP1, not FP2. I did not know the opposite was possible!
Sam
10th November 2022, 10:29
I hope he bins it having done less than the 100km needed, pathetic that they are having to try and top up his points like this to try and get him into the car for next season
Jere (@jerejj)
10th November 2022, 14:18
Williams probably wouldn’t have resorted to such an unorthodox measure had they maximized laps for him early into the last event FP1 by considering possible session stoppages caused by others.
I’m still baffled how they could fail at something such simple.
Hopefully, they’ve learned that leaving something up to chance is unworthy.
Crawliin-from-the-wreckage- Special Unhinged Edition (@davedai)
11th November 2022, 7:41
Anyone know if Logan is related to the late Marshall Sargeant ? Completely different class of motorsport but was just interested