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Logan Sargeant has been officially confirmed as a 2023 Williams Formula 1 driver and completes next year’s grid after securing a superlicence with his result in the Formula 2 championship.
Sargeant finished fourth in his rookie year in F2 and will become the first full-time American F1 driver since Scott Speed raced for Toro Rosso in 2006-07 when he partners Alex Albon at Williams next year.
Sargeant said having the opportunity to race in F1 was “a huge honour and a dream come true”, while Williams sporting director Sven Smeets said being able to promote one of the team’s junior drivers was “a proud moment”.
“Being a part of the Williams driver academy for the past year has given me an important platform to develop as a driver and prepare me for this next chapter,” said Sargeant.
“I’m ready and excited to be a part of this journey as the team looks to progress up the grid.”
Smeets added: “Seeing a driver from the Academy getting in our F1 seat is a motivation for all the other academy drivers and demonstrates legitimacy of the programme and the platform it provides.”
This was the final vacancy on the F1 grid after Haas announced ahead of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix weekend that Nico Hulkenberg will replace Mick Schumacher.
Only four teams will field an unchanged line-up in F1 next season.
Red Bull’s double title-winning pairing of Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez stay together for a third season, as do Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz at Ferrari.
George Russell and Lewis Hamilton will drive for Mercedes again, as will Alfa Romeo’s all-new 2022 line-up Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu.
But a volatile driver market means various changes across the rest of the grid.
Fernando Alonso’s move to Aston Martin, where he will join Lance Stroll in place of the retiring Sebastian Vettel, has allowed Pierre Gasly to partner Esteban Ocon at Alpine.
Oscar Piastri snubbed Alpine to join McLaren alongside Lando Norris, with Daniel Ricciardo ousted and moving to Red Bull as a reserve driver instead.
Gasly’s move to Alpine freed up a seat at AlphaTauri that will be taken by Nyck de Vries, while Yuki Tsunoda is kept on for a third season.
The shuffles at Haas (Hulkenberg) and Williams (Sargeant) were the final confirmed moves of the silly season.
All of these drivers moving or joining teams for 2023 will take part in the post-season Abu Dhabi test on Tuesday with their new teams.
2023 F1 grid
Red Bull: Max Verstappen, Sergio Perez
Ferrari: Charles Leclerc, Carlos Sainz
Mercedes: George Russell, Lewis Hamilton
Alpine: Esteban Ocon, Pierre Gasly
McLaren: Lando Norris, Oscar Piastri
Alfa Romeo: Valtteri Bottas, Zhou Guanyu
Aston Martin: Fernando Alonso, Lance Stroll
Haas: Kevin Magnussen, Nico Hulkenberg
AlphaTauri: Yuki Tsunoda, Nyck de Vries
Williams: Alex Albon, Logan Sargeant
