Why Logan Sargeant could be America's next F1 champion

However, there is a strong feeling that is all about to come to an end with two young, exciting American prospects waiting for their opportunity to jump into F1.

Much of the attention has been on young IndyCar star Colton Herta, 22, who was signed by McLaren earlier this year as a development driver.

However, with Lando Norris tied down until at least 2025 and McLaren expected to replace the underperforming Daniel Ricciardo with Oscar Piastri, plus other teams currently rebuffing Andretti’s attempts to enter the championship, it’s hard to see a way in to F1 for Herta in the coming years.

This adds to the argument that it is another American talent who has the brighter future in the top category of single-seater racing.

Currently third in the Formula 2 championship, Logan Sargeant, 21, has had a breakout year in which he’s shown real potential as an F1 prospect.

Added to being part of the Williams Driver Academy, there is a good chance Sargeant may find himself in grand prix racing next year with the future of Nicholas Latifi, whose contract ends at the end of 2022, in big doubt.

Sargeant showed his supreme ability from a very young age, where he followed in the footsteps of Fernando Alonso, Alex Albon and Charles Leclerc to become the junior karting world champion.

He did so in 2015 and was also the first American in 37 years to achieve such an accomplishment, getting the Florida-native his big break into single seater racing.

In his title-winning event, he gained the ascendancy early on Saturday morning and was never really challenged for first until the chequered flag of the final on Sunday afternoon, winning four of the five heats along the way.

Such a dominant weekend gained him a spot in the Formula 4 UAE Championship for 2016/17, where he was able to adapt straight away, finishing second in the championship.

However, what particularly stood out about the American was that, apart from three retirements, he finished on the podium in every race.

In the early formulas, a driver can show immense pace but not really have the consistency needed to make it at the top level. If one shows constant high placings like Sargeant has, it’s clear there is something special in there.

That consistency then carried into the following year where he finished third in the F4 British Championship, only coming home outside of the points twice, with one being a retirement, to finish just behind Piastri who was runner-up that season.

“Logan will be in an F1 car in the future, I’m absolutely convinced” Jost Capito

Since then it has been a gradual progression through the ranks for Sargeant, but the consistency has always remained.

In contrast to that, an inability to close out results is still a part of Herta’s driving characterstic. This year’s IndyCar season has been very up and down for him, winning a roadcourse race at Indianapolis – but crashing out of the lead at Long Beach and finishing outside the top 10 on seven occasions.

How far Sargeant can go in F1 is up for debate, but there is no doubt the talent is there for him to become America’s next big hope.

He’s never won a championship in the junior formulas, but he has always been fighting towards the top and in 2020, he took the Formula 3 title fight to the last day against Piastri and Theo Pourchaire, where an unfortunate retirement in the final race cost him hopes of victory.

Sargeant then had another race-winning season in F3 the following year before making the jump up to F2 for 2022, where quite impressively he’s adapted straight away and finds himself fighting towards the top.

“It would be a great headache, wouldn’t it?,” said Williams boss Jost Capito about what to do with Sargeant should he win F2 this year.

“I’ve had worse ones. Of course, we are impressed. You know, it’s his first season in F2. We didn’t put any pressure on him.

“So he has the time to develop, and he’s really impressed us with how fast he has got to grips with the car, about the tyre management and getting results.

“How he got the pole [in France] was really impressive. He will be in an F1 car in the future, I’m absolutely convinced.”

Before France, his first victory this season was in the Silverstone feature race, which came after his maiden pole position in the category.

He achieved pole in quite a dominant fashion, never losing the top spot for long throughout the session, before posting his fastest lap with five minutes to go, which was over a tenth quicker than anybody else.

Sargeant then won the feature race in a similar fashion, with no driver really challenging him for the lead, as the American showed immense calmness under the pressure to take victory.

Chasing that first win can be incredibly daunting and a lot of drivers let the stress get to them, yet Sargeant showed he doesn’t get fazed – for that, America can be very excited about the talent which hales from its shores.

It seems likely Sargeant will find himself driving in F1 and, when he gets there, he has the potential to go far.

He will only improve and mature from here, which is exactly what makes a potentially great grand prix driver, with Sargeant still having the possibility of taking his ability to another level.

Herta still has a lot of obstacles in his way before getting to F1 – making the jump from IndyCar is very difficult and one not too many drivers do successfully.

Conversely, Sargeant’s route seems appears a lot more straightforward: he wouldn’t need as long to adapt to an F1 car, having already driven similar machinery, and he is already set to partake in a practice session for Williams in October this year at the United States GP.

That would be a great platform for Sargeant to show what he’s made of, and his case for a spot on the grid next year would be even stronger if he pips Felipe Drugovich to the F2 title.

Regardless of that, Sargeant is still a great driver and should he continue this smooth, but constantly improving, trajectory, the 21-year-old could easily be the man to end America’s long wait for another race winner –  and maybe even champion.