Jost Capito, the Team Principal of Williams Racing, believes Logan Sargeant is ready to make the step up into the FIA Formula 1 World Championship in 2023, and will be at the Grove-based team next season if he secures a Superlicence in the FIA Formula 2 finale next month.
With two further free practice outings confirmed for Sargeant in both the Mexico City and Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, the twenty-one-year-old American will earn himself a Superlicence and a spot on the grid next season if he finishes inside the top six in the Formula 2 standings this year.
Racing for Carlin in 2022, he currently sits third in the championship standings heading into the final round in Abu Dhabi, but his position inside the top six is far from confirmed, with Jack Doohan, Jehan Daruvala, Enzo Fittipaldi and Liam Lawson all within twelve points of his current points tally. In fact, everyone down to eleventh placed Dennis Hauger could thwart Sargeant’s chances of making it into Formula 1.
Sargeant has twice won races in Formula 2 in 2022, capturing feature race victories at Silverstone and the Red Bull Ring, but he will need to regain the form he showed across the midpoint of the season in Abu Dhabi after scoring only six points across the past two Formula 2 weekends in the Netherlands and Italy.
But despite this, Capito feels that he is ready to make that jump should he indeed secure that all-important Superlicence to replace the ousted Nicholas Latifi at Williams.
“We feel he’s ready to race,” said Capito during Saturday’s FIA press conference at the Circuit of the Americas after Sargeant had impressed the team on Friday.
“Under the condition that he has enough Superlicence points, he will be our second driver next year.”