24 November 2023 , 16:30
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Williams could turn to Frederik Vesti if they decide to axe Logan Sargeant.
The American is not yet assured a second season in Formula 1 with his seat the last on the 2024 grid to be confirmed. Team boss James Vowles has made it clear he wanted to give Sargeant until the end of the season to prove himself before a final decision was made.
The Floridian has made notable improvements in recent rounds and the general feeling has been that his progress may be enough to earn him that 2024 berth. But now a new potential candidate to replace him has emerged.
Danish driver Vesti is a Mercedes junior and stood in for Lewis Hamilton during FP1 at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. And Sky Germany pundit Ralf Schumacher thinks Williams may be eyeing the Formula 2 title contender as an alternative solution.
"In Las Vegas I was wondering why James Vowles had not yet confirmed Sargeant for Williams," he said. "That's probably because Frederik Vesti is on the wish list and [Vowles] is watching him closely in Abu Dhabi and is also allowed to see his data. 'Maybe we have to make a decision for next year'."
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Vowles has insisted that no decision will be made at this final race weekend of the year. "When you talk about the future of the team and that of a young man, what the future looks like in Formula 1, then I want to make this decision calmly, after the race weekend," said the Williams chief.
A move for Vesti is not an outlandish proposition. Williams have a very strong working relationship with Mercedes and have blooded their young drivers in F1 before - most recently running George Russell for three seasons before he stepped up to race alongside Hamilton.
Mercedes chief Toto Wolff spoke highly of Vesti after the session but made it clear he would not be pressuring his former deputy Vowles into making a move for the Dane. He said: "Frederik is great, he’s had a very good season. He's reliable, we have him in the simulator and he does a good job. Some of the guys who drove in FP1 deserve to be in a Formula 1 car.
"I was at Williams 12 or 13 years ago. What I always wanted with Frank was to take our own decision on drivers with no interference from a big brother. That's why I always respected that we've never had a contract which allows us to put a driver in. It's in James' authority to decide."
Sargeant has just one point to his name this season, picked up after Hamilton and Charles Leclerc were disqualified from the United States Grand Prix. He came 11th in Brazil to narrowly miss out on adding to that total and qualified exceptionally well in Las Vegas last weekend, before Williams had their strategies ruined by the timing of the safety cars.