Logan Sargeant, first American in the points for 30 years
Thanks to his 10th place at the United States Grand Prix, the Williams driver became the first American driver to score a point in F1 since Michael Andretti in 1993.
So, he had to wait until the 18th Grand Prix of the season and his second home race of the year to score his first point in Formula 1. Taking advantage of the disqualifications of Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc after the finish, Logan Sargeant thus finished 10th in the United States Grand Prix ran on the circuit in Austin.
In Texas, the Floridian had a very poor start to his weekend. Having had the slowest time in the qualifiers and being the last driver to cross the finish line during Saturday’s Sprint, nothing seemed destined for the Williams driver to be in the Top 10 on Sunday.
« It’s incredible to score my first point in F1 at home after a tough weekend. We worked hard all night to find a positive direction with the car and we found it. I am very proud of the team for the hard work and the progress we have made this season » stated Sargeant after the announcement of his inclusion in the points.
This result allows Alex Albon’s teammate to become the first American driver to score points since Michael Andretti in 1993. At that time, the son of the 1978 world champion, Mario Andretti, was Ayrton Senna’s teammate at McLaren.
Confirmed by the team based in Woking at the start of the season after winning the CART championship (ancestor of Indycar) two years earlier, the native of Bethlehem (Pennsylvania) scores points only three times in thirteen races, in Barcelona, Magny-Cours and Monza, where he climbs onto the only podium of his career for his last Grand Prix in F1.
Far from the performances of his illustrious teammate and blaming him for his lack of commitment, McLaren indeed decides to part ways with its driver for the last three races of the season and to replace him with the test driver, the young Mika Häkkinen. Michael Andretti will have scored a total of seven points in Formula 1.
A common point with another American pilot
Another noteworthy and even more historic fact, Logan Sargeant became the first American driver to score a point on his home soil in 34 years. The last one to perform this feat was Eddie Cheever in 1989. In an Arrows powered by Ford Cosworth, Cheever climbed onto his ninth and final podium of his career in the streets of Phoenix and thus scored four points.
With a third Grand Prix scheduled in the United States this season in Las Vegas, Sargeant will have a new opportunity to increase his points capital and eventually convince Williams to keep him in 2024.
