Sargeant: These opportunities come around once in a lifetime

Alexander Rossi was the last USA driver to race in F1, he made a brief cameo for Marussia in 2015, competing in five races that year for the now-defunct team. Prior to him, Scott Speed made 28 Grand Prix starts during a spell with Toro Rosso in 2006 and 2007.

The last USA driver to win a F1 race was back in 1978 when Mario Andretti triumphed at the 1978 Dutch Grand Prix for Lotus, the year he won his F1 title, before him, in 1961, Phil Hill was the only other American to be F1 World Champion.

Now, half a century later, with F1 finally gripping the country, the timing is right for Stateside drivers to start making their mark, with Andretti Global expected to enter F1 with an all-American effort.

But until that happens, the main USA focus will likely be on their own driver: 21-year-old Sargeant who knows what he is in for: "It's exciting, and it's definitely a privilege to even have this opportunity. They come around once in a lifetime and now it's my job to make the most of that.

"It comes down to the pressure of making sure I prepare for that the best I possibly can, physically, mentally, as well as getting as well acquainted with the team as I can. That's the goal, and hopefully, we can perform next year."

Sadly Logan, much like Rossi almost a decade ago, will be racing for a backmarker team. Williams, once the mightiest team in F1, is a shadow of itself during the Sir Frank Williams heyday. Nevertheless, it is an entry point that served the likes of Valtteri Bottas and more recently George Russell, very well.

Sargeant's bio on the official F1 website state describes him as "a prolific title winner in karting, championship glory eluded Sargeant after he made the transition to single-seater racing, but pole positions and race victories in almost every category he contested underlined his raw speed and potential."

Finishing runner-up in F4 UAE, third in British F4 and third, in F3 (also making the podium at the prestigious Macau Grand Prix) showed he could be there or thereabouts in a variety of championships, with plenty of potential still to be untapped.

It also convinced Williams to add the youngster to their books as he reached F2, where more race wins and another top-three classification in 2022 secured the Super Licence points required to complete the journey and graduate to F1 with the Grove team for 2023.

Sargeant explained; “I was looking for a balance between risk and reward. The pressure wasn’t as great as I expected. I knew what was at stake. That took the pressure off.

“I knew it would work out if we performed as we could and showed the same speed we’d shown all year. During the races, I had to be not too aggressive, but also not too restrained. I wanted to stay realistic. I knew I still had a job to do. Of course, there was a bit of pressure on my shoulders," he admitted.

Clearly, Sargeant did enough to get the nod ahead of some impressive contenders for the seat, including Daniel Ricciardo and Mick Schumacher who were on the market at the time; the latter two demoted to reserves and Logan stepping up for his F1 rookie season.

Sargeant then got a run late in 2022 with four FP1 sessions with Williams, starting at his home race at COTA, then again in Mexico City, followed by Interlagos and Abu Dhabi again

With more than capable Alex Albon remaining with Williams for 2023, Sargeant has a handy benchmark to measure himself to and, of course, will have nowhere to hide in the harsh spotlight that shines constantly on F1.

Williams sporting director Sven Smeets is optimistic: “To be able to give Logan the opportunity to compete in Formula 1 for Williams Racing next year after being an integral part of our Driver Academy is a proud moment for the team.”

“Seeing a driver from the Academy getting in our F1 seat is a motivation for all the other Academy drivers and demonstrates the legitimacy of the programme and the platform it provides," added Smeets.

With F1 enjoying three Grand Prix races on United States soil this season, six in total in the Americas, plus the global boom in interest for the sport, Sargeant's arrival on center stage could not be better timed.

Nyck de Vries (AlphaTauri) and Oscar Piastri (McLaren) are the other two F1 2023 rookies, making the one of the most impressive trio of newcomers stepping up to the top flight this season.