15 August 2023 , 07:22
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Mick Schumacher is the 'obvious contender' to replace struggling F1 rookie Logan Sargeant should his struggles continue in the second half of the season.
Sargeant joined Williams after finishing fourth in last year's F2 world championship, replacing Nicholas Latifi. In the process, he became the first full-time American F1 driver since Scott Speed last competed for Toro Rosso in 2007.
However, Sargeant has struggled in his debut season, failing to pick up a single point across the first 12 races. Fellow rookie Nyck de Vries is the only other driver who started the season to have picked up zero points and he was axed by AlphaTauri after the British Grand Prix with Daniel Ricciardo replacing him.
Sargeant's Williams team-mate Alex Albon, meanwhile, has picked up points in three races so far and it has been suggested the British team could axe Sargeant in favour of Schumacher should the American fail to make more of an impact when the F1 season resumes next weekend.
Schumacher has previously been linked with a Williams seat, given the obvious links between the team and Mercedes where the 24-year-old is currently a reserve driver. Schumacher said back in June that he is "ready" to return to the grid and "sure something will develop in the near future".
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And reporter Lawrence Barretto has suggested Williams could bring him in as a replacement for Sargeant. In an article on the F1 website, Barretto said Schumacher is an 'obvious contender' for Sargeant's spot having 'briefly had talks with the team last year'.
Reflecting on his season so far, Sargeant admitted things have not gone to plan but insisted he is confident results will improve in the near future. "Ups and downs, [I'm] not where I want to be," he said.
"Over the last few rounds, I feel like I'm much closer. I feel like I've seen really good progression as of late and that's the most important thing. I think I need to clean some things up.
Logan Sargeant has yet to score an F1 championship point (Getty Images)"I think, as a team collectively, we can clean some things up and that's what we need to focus on going into the second part of the season. I wouldn't say I've put an insane amount of pressure on myself.
"I think it's been mentally challenging how many things need to be done and not having much time away from it to sort of reset. It's just sort of mentally draining rather than super challenging. Obviously, I have high self-expectations.
"I want to drive well, I've frustrated myself plenty of times this year when I haven't done what I could have done and that's what it comes down to, it's me expecting to get the most out of myself.
"And at times I feel like I've just missed the mark on that a few times. And it's about cleaning that up, stringing it together better, executing better. And I feel like that's the next step. Because I feel like I now have the pieces to do at all."