Toto Wolff assures ”that he does not have a say in the Williams drivers for 2024”
While Logan Sargeant's seat is not yet confirmed, rumors suggest that he could lose his place in F1 next year in favor of a Mercedes junior driver like Frederik Vesti. However, Mercedes' executive director, Toto Wolff, claims that he "has no say in Williams' drivers" for the upcoming season.
Out of the 20 seats on the F1 grid for next year, 19 have been confirmed. Only Logan Sargeant, rookie driver for Williams, does not yet have his seat secured for 2024. The American, who will celebrate his 23rd birthday in December, entered F1 after just one full season in F2 with Carlin in 2022. Even though he didn’t win the championship, he finished fourth in this category with four podiums, including two victories and two pole positions. These results convinced Williams to promote the driver from their academy, replacing a disappointing Nicolas Latifi, whose sponsorship money from Canadian sponsors was no longer as vital for the British team.
A tough learning season for Sargeant
The FW45 is certainly not the best car on the grid, however Alexander Albon has achieved good performances with this car, scoring 27 out of his team’s 28 points, with one race to go in the championship. Sargeant has only scored one point this season, at the United States Grand Prix in Austin, on October 22nd. The American finished 12th in the race but gained this point due to the disqualifications of Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc. He is currently 21st in the standings out of the 22 drivers who have participated in the 2023 championship.
Sargeant also experienced numerous accidents. At Zandvoort, he managed to qualify for the first time in his career into Q3, but crashed during qualifying and started only 10th, before having another accident in the race the next day. With the budget cap introduced in F1 since 2021, and a Williams team that doesn’t have as much financial means as the top teams, Sargeant’s accidents could cost him a great deal, as well as his seat for next year.
Mercedes denies having any influence on Sargeant’s future
Since 2014 and the era of hybrid engines, Mercedes has been selling power units to Williams. This agreement has allowed the German team to place some of its young drivers at Williams. George Russell drove for Williams from 2019 to 2021, and Nyck de Vries drove the FW44 in free practice and races in 2022.
This agreement between the two teams could put Logan Sargeant in danger, furthermore, Mercedes has a young driver in F2, Danish Frederik Vesti, who is currently second in the championship and whose future is not yet known. Toto Wolff, the executive director of Mercedes, praises his junior driver: « Frederik is great. He had a very good season and he is reliable. We had him in the simulator and he did a very good job. He did what we asked him to do in training and he is a really good guy », says the Austrian.
But he denies having any influence over the choice of Williams drivers. « When I was at Williams 12 or 13 years ago with Frank Williams, I always wanted us to make our own decisions regarding the drivers. That’s why I’ve always respected that. We’ve never had an engine contract that would have allowed us to put another driver in the car. It’s up to James to decide what’s best for him », affirms Toto Wolff. James Volwes, the current executive director of Williams since this year, is the former strategic director of Mercedes from 2010 to 2022. So it’s possible that he wants to promote the Dane instead of the American, in the Williams, for the next F1 season.
