AUSTIN, Texas — Editor’s note: The video above was published in October 2022.
With the start of the Formula 1 (F1) season almost approaching, Americans now have one of their own among the European drivers on the grid.
For the first time since 2015, F1 will see an American driver among the ranks.
Logan Sargeant, 22, will be racing for the Williams Racing F1 team (Williams) come March 5, the official start of the season. Sargeant earned his Super License at the end of the 2022 season, which gave him enough points to jump from the Formula 2 league into F1 for the first time. Fans got a glimpse of Sargeant during the US Grand Prix, as he was in the paddocks and got to drive for Williams during one of the free practice races during the weekend.
Before Sargeant, there was Alex Rossi. Rossi only appeared on the grid five times before leaving F1.
Now that the season has three American racetracks for the first time – one in Austin, Las Vegas and Miami – America has even more to be excited about. The excitement for the American driver to come to F1 was stated by Sargeant himself halfway through the F2 2022 season.
The Florida native is looking forward to seeing the team in Miami but has a bias to the US Grand Prix in Austin.
In the words of racing legend Mario Andretti, “The only thing missing [in F1] is an American driver.”
In the last eight years, the closest America has gotten to having an American presence on the grid is through the MoneyGram Haas F1 team (Haas). Haas, an all-American led team by Team Principal Guenther Steiner, was founded in 2016 and has been making an effort to leave their mark in the history books of F1 legends. Haas had a phenomenal inaugural season seven years ago and, in the years since, the team’s progression has been slow and steady upwards.
In an amazing turn of events, Kevin Magnussen was presented with the perfect storm during the Interlagos, or Brazil, Grand Prix. Magnussen managed to achieve P1 at the end of Qualifying to start the Sunday race at the front of the grid, something that was unheard of under heavyweight drivers like Max Verstappen, Lewis Hamilton, Charles LeClerc and more.
By the end of the 2022 season, Haas made a name for itself and gave a reason for every single American to rally behind the team – after all, if it was able to put Magnussen at the front of the pack and end the season with an overall P8 in the final standings, what else can it do moving forward?
If there wasn’t already a reason for American fans to be cheering on the sidelines, they have a team that flies the red, white and blue and now get the honor of seeing someone stand in front of the flag on the podium one day with the National Anthem playing in the background.
Now, although America is beefing up their presence on the grid, Americans have a lot to contend with when it comes to the already established behemoths on the grid. Two-time world champion Max Verstappen with Red Bull Racing was a menace on the grid last season by winning a record-breaking 15 races and earning the world championship title back-to-back. In addition to the flying Dutchman, there’s seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton for Mercedes and Charles LeClerc and Carlos Sainz with Ferrari.
All of these drivers created an explosive season on the grid last year and can only guarantee the same result in the coming months.
Take a look ahead at where you’ll find the drivers throughout the world:
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