Williams Racing have confirmed that Logan Sargeant will take a back seat for the remainder of the Formula One season.
Sargeant, whose sophomore F1 campaign has proved a disaster, is being replaced by Franco Colapinto for Sunday’s Italian Grand Prix and beyond.
The 23-year-old American is already set to leave Williams at the end of the season after his departure from the team was confirmed during the summer break.
From the 2025 season onwards, Carlos Sainz will instead come in to partner Alex Albon.
Sargeant was still expected to race alongside Albon in the last nine races of 2024 despite his struggles on the track.
Williams have confirmed Logan Sargeant will take a back seat for the rest of the F1 season
However, after a horror crash at last weekend’s Dutch Grand Prix destroyed his Williams machine, team principal James Vowles has lost patience and taken him out immediately.
Sargeant lost control of his Williams in wet conditions on the exit of the banked Turn 3 and hit the barriers hard before spinning 270 degrees, his right rear wheel becoming detached as the drama unfolded.
The rear of his car then went up in powerful orange flames.
A concerned George Russell pulled alongside him and gestured to him to scramble out of the cockpit.
Sargeant, clearly shaken by the high impact smash, climbed out under instruction from his Williams pit wall. ‘The car is on fire,’ he was told by his race engineer Gaeto Jago. ‘Jump out. The car is on fire.’
The driver slumped over the barrier beyond the grass verge as fire marshals rushed to the scene, if a little belatedly.
A red flag was waved as he went to the medical center for precautionary checks while his crumpled car was taken away by lorry.
Sargeant, who is languishing in 16th place in the F1 standings, destroyed his Williams machine after a sloppy crash at last weekend’s Dutch Grand Prix
The American’s sophomore F1 campaign has been nothing short of a disaster with Williams
Sargeant is languishing 16th in the 20-driver F1 standings this year after finishing 19th in his debut season.
The Florida-born driver joined Williams’ driving academy in October 2021 after working his way up through the ranks and impressing in Formula 2, 3 and 4.
He made his practice debut just over a year later before it was confirmed that he would driver for the team in 2023.
The 21-year-old Colapinto, meanwhile, is a member of the Williams academy and made his FP1 debut at the British Grand Prix earlier this year.
He becomes the first Argentine driver in F1 for 23 years and just the second to drive for Williams after Carlos Reutemann.
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