In the round-up: Williams team principal Jost Capito hinted Logan Sargeant could be announced as their new driver for the 2023 Formula 1 season today.
In brief
Williams driver announcement rumoured
Speaking to fans on Friday, Capito responded to a question about when F1 might next have an American driver by saying: “Follow the news and you might see something on Saturday.”
Williams was bought by US firm Dorilton in 2020 and the team has already indicated Nicholas Latifi will not be retained next year. Previous candidates for the seat, Oscar Piastri and Nyck de Vries, have been signed by rivals.
Sargeant lies third in Formula 2 with one round remaining and is poised to reach the 40 points required for an F1 superlicence, and made a successful appearance for the team in first practice yesterday. He became a Williams junior driver one year ago today and tested for the team at the end of last season. He said his first experience of driving a 2022 F1 car in was “very different” to what he expected.
“I think the main goal coming into the day was just to learn as much as possible and I feel like I did pick up on a lot,” said Sargeant. “It’s very different to what I honestly expected, but in a good way. A lot of potential to still pick up on and improve on. But I think it was a good start and I’m happy with how it went.”
He said his priority is to ensure he ends the season with sufficient superlicence points to be ableto graduate to F1. “I need to have a good Abu Dhabi to secure my superlicence,” he said. “That’s the main focus at the moment, to go out there and have a good round and solidify myself in the top two in the championship.”
Sainz prefers second race win to fourth in the standings
Carlos Sainz Jnr has admitted he would prefer to win a second race before the end of the 2022 season rather than secure fourth place in the drivers’ championship ahead of George Russell.
The Ferrari driver took his first grand prix victory at Silverstone earlier in the season, but currently sits fifth in the drivers’ championship on 202 points, five behind Mercedes driver Russell. With only four races remaining in the championship, Sainz says where he finishes in the standings is irrelevant to him.
“Fifth, fourth – it doesn’t change my life as a racing driver,” said Sainz. “I only care about obviously winning and having a good season.
“If I can finish fourth, I’ll take fourth, but I would prefer to win a…
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