McLaren’s Oscar Piastri was surprised by Logan Sargeant’s struggles in Formula 1 that led to the American being replaced by Williams earlier this week.
Sargeant was dropped after crashing heavily during the Dutch Grand Prix weekend, and will be replaced by rookie Franco Colapinto for the rest of the season. Sargeant’s spell with Williams ends with a record of just one point scored in 36 race starts, but Piastri – who was team-mates with Sargeant in Formula 3 in 2020 and raced against him in multiple categories before that – believes he couldn’t translate his talent into performances in F1.
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“I sent him a text yesterday, and he seems OK,” Piastri said. “It was a little bit of a shock, obviously it wasn’t an easy time for him in F1. I think it was much more difficult for him than maybe I expected it to be, going into F1. For me, his potential was much greater than what was on show in F1, for whatever reason it might be.
“But I know first-hand, being his teammate in the junior categories, racing him in basically everything, I know how quick he is. I don’t think the change was completely unexpected. Quite a bold move to put Franco in, I would say, but best of luck to him.
“Just a shame that I think he probably had… For whatever reason he wasn’t able to show everything he’s got, because in the junior categories he was genuinely one of the quickest guys I went up against. So I think his potential is much greater than what some people see.”
Alex Albon, Sargeant’s former teammate in F1, was similarly full of praise for the Floridian, saying he still feels the 23-year-old has the ability to perform at a high level wherever he races next.
“I’m kind of focused on my own lane, so obviously more than anything, I know Logan personally,” Albon said. “He’s a super guy and things didn’t work out, but I’m sure whatever he gets on and moves on to do, he’s going to be very good. I know the pace he has.
“Clearly it was quite a late decision, so I didn’t hear so long before the announcement. Obviously, yes, I did speak with Logan, but I’ll keep that behind closed doors. A great guy, and we got on very well. I think he’s got a bright future ahead of him. And yeah, I feel for him, for sure.”