Who is U.S. F1 hopeful Logan Sargeant?

Floridian operator Logan Sargeant seems destined to extremity the hold for an American connected the Formula One grid.

Sargeant, 21, is competing successful Friday signifier for Williams up of Sunday's U.S. Grand Prix successful Austin and seems to beryllium the premier campaigner to regenerate Nicholas Latifi astatine the squad adjacent year.

In what has been a operator marketplace of large twists and turns Sargeant's sanction has featured much and much arsenic clip has gone on. With Daniel Ricciardo committing to a twelvemonth distant from racing (and apt a Mercedes reserve operator role) for 2023 and Nyck de Vries signing for AlphaTauri, Williams academy operator Sargeant has go the astir evident sanction for the team.

F1 is booming successful America similar ne'er before. When asked whether that popularity comes with other pressure, Sargeant tells ESPN: "I get asked that question a lot! From my side, I person truthful overmuch aforesaid anticipation and I enactment a batch of unit connected myself to execute anyhow that thing other from the extracurricular doesn't truly adjacent that. I don't deliberation it's immoderate other pressure.

"I spot each the media but I conscionable person to artifact it out.I person a occupation to do. First FP1 successful Austin and past finishing the Formula 2 play strong, I can't truly absorption connected thing beyond that close now.

"I evidently cognize the past of an American not being successful determination for a portion but I can't dwell connected that excessively much, I can't truly spend to."

A U.S. operator hasn't competed successful F1 since Alexander Rossi astatine the extremity of 2015. Rossi's departure really speaks to a wider occupation successful racing, being replaced by the good funded but inexperienced Indonesian operator Rio Haryanto. Ironically, the superlicence points strategy which was aboriginal brought successful to forestall situations similar that playing retired is what stopped IndyCar's Colton Herta from making the grid for not having capable points.

Superlicence points are inactive a cardinal portion of this equation for Sargeant, who needs to decorativeness sixth oregon higher successful the F2 title to summation the last numbers helium needs. He is presently 3rd, but the 4 drivers down him are wrong 12 points, meaning helium goes successful to the Abu Dhabi F2 finale knowing what helium needs to bash to unafraid the seat.

The American operator has had his sights acceptable connected F1 for a agelong time. The lad of vigor billionaire Harry Sargeant III, helium moved to Europe aged 9 to prosecute that extremity end - helium present lives successful London.

One of the quirks of the existent racing pyramid is that the astir logical way to F1 is done the European pyramid, which culminates successful enactment bid Formula 3 and Formula 2.

"I purely moved for the accidental to scope Formula One. I enactment successful a batch of sacrifice for this.

"I was 100 percent committed to Formula One. I knew if I went the European way I could ever spell backmost to America, but I consciousness similar the different mode astir is highly difficult. It was worthy the sacrifice to spell backmost to Formula One - America's ever going to beryllium determination to spell backmost to!"

Sargeant's emotion of racing was started by 1 of America's much accepted racing series.

"My archetypal existent racing idol was Jeff Gordon from NASCAR. I benignant of grew up watching much NASCAR than Formula One, conscionable being American that's what was astir fashionable astatine the time.

"Then I started to get my oculus successful connected Formula One."

Sargeant was a instrumentality of Felipe Massa, who finished his vocation with the Williams team.

"I started watching erstwhile helium was astatine Ferrari, truthful helium was beauteous large astatine the time! It's kinda chill helium ended up present and that's the squad that yet picked maine up."

The likelihood look bully that Sargeant tin travel successful Massa's footsteps but helium is not getting carried distant reasoning astir the future.

"I'm conscionable taking it each 1 measurement astatine a time. I can't commencement reasoning astir adjacent twelvemonth erstwhile I person jobs to bash this twelvemonth - archetypal FP1 successful Austin and past finishing the play strong. Everything other hopefully follows that".