Williams Racing commits Americans to its driver academy. Is this the best shot to get an American driver into Formula 1?

The romance between America and Formula 1 took off in 2021. Netflix’s hugely successful Drive To Survive series sparked a new love for the world’s most popular motorsport in the States. This passion manifested itself with record numbers at the recent US Grand Prix at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas.

With all of the work F1 has put into trying to crack the US market over the past few years, there has been one major flaw in the plan: to get an American driver on the grid. Alexander Rossi was the last American to start a Grand Prix in 2015, but in the six years since then, no other American has been in the series or even in the pipeline.

An American Formula 1 team, but no American drivers

Race winner Logan Sargeant from the USA and Charouz Racing System celebrates on the podium during the first race of the 7th round: Sochi of the Formula 3 Championship on September 24, 2021 in Sochi, Russia | Photo by Bryn Lennon / Getty Images

All of this is a source of frustration for American F1 fans as the series hosts a US team, the Haas F1 Team, but has not yet put an American driver on the field. Instead, the team opted for seasoned drivers to become more competitive and then switched to two rookies in 2021 in the form of Nikita Mazepin and Mick Schumacher – the former bringing in a sizeable amount of money for the team.

That could change in the next few years if the Williams Racing Driver Academy has something to say about it. The legendary British racing squad recently added promising American racing driver Logan Sargeant to their roster.

Sargeant becomes the first racing driver to join the Driver Academy program under new ownership, Dorilton Capital. He joins an impressive line-up that includes F1 reserve driver Jack Aitken, F2 competitor Roy Nissany and two-time W Series champion Jamie Chadwick.

The path to Formula 1 has not always gone smoothly for Sargeant. He narrowly missed the F3 title in 2020, finishing behind Oscar Piastri and Theo Pourchaire, but managed to take two wins and six podiums. The next logical step would have been to move up to F2. Instead, a lack of last-minute funding forced a return to the F3 competition.

In 2021, Sargeant brought his F3 car home with four podiums and a solo win at the season finale in Sochi, Russia. Finishing seventh in the championship with 127 points doesn’t set the world on fire, but Williams has seen enough of it to warrant a shot at their driving academy.

Williams is optimistic about Sargeant but needs help taking the next steps

I am honored to confirm that I will be joining @WilliamsRacing as part of their driver academy. I am very grateful for the opportunity and the trust you have placed in me. A big thank you to @Infinity_ISM for all of your help. I can’t wait to get started. pic.twitter.com/DvyCOfDb9G

– Logan Sargeant (@LoganSargeant) October 22, 2021

Speaking to Williams, Sargeant said, “I am very excited to join the Williams Racing Driver Academy. It’s a team with not only a fantastic history, but also a great track record of bringing young talent into Formula 1. I’m really looking forward to working with the team and can’t wait to get started. “

Jost Capito, Williams CEO added, “I am incredibly excited to welcome Logan to the Williams Racing Driver Academy. He demonstrated his talent in the FIA ​​Formula 3 and achieved consistently strong results in an extremely competitive field. I am proud that Williams will help support the development and growth of another talented young driver. “

Logan Sargeant’s junior career was not as spectacular as that of drivers like Charles LeClerc, George Russell, Lando Norris or Max Verstappen; he still managed to prove that he can compete and win in some of the most impressive junior formulas in the world.

Only time will tell if Sargeant can get the final pieces in place and be the next American F1 star the US is craving right now, but at least Williams Racing is giving him a chance.

Related: A huge American racing name could get into Formula 1 to take on Mercedes and Red Bull