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Williams has acted decisively - axing Logan Sargeant from its Formula 1 line-up and opting to give its academy driver Franco Colapinto a shot for the remaining nine rounds of the 2024 season.
This is, Williams says, to give the team "the best chance to compete for points over the remainder of the season" as it bids to improve on its current ninth place in F1's constructors' championship standings.
But does Colapinto really represent its best hope of joining Alex Albon in getting the FW46 on the points-scoring board? And was there any case for keeping Sargeant on any longer?
Here's our take on Williams's mid-season shake-up:
Colapinto's a wildcard with a huge upside
Scott Mitchell-Malm
I'm not surprised to see Sargeant be replaced. He had not done enough to stay given that Williams was so open to replacing him - it's been on the cards for several months, and Sargent has generally underdelivered. There's a good driver in there, and some circumstances definitely played against him, but I don't think he ever really strung it together over a full weekend in F1.
It's harsh, simply for being dumped mid-season, but it's fair and justifiable. And it's not something Williams would have wanted to do - otherwise it would have axed him during the summer break and given Colapinto maximum preparation time. There was no point letting Sargeant race at Zandvoort if the likelihood was he'd be dropped anyway.
But what of Colapinto? I really like it as a pick. It's such a wildcard choice but it has a good upside. He is rough around the edges - how can he not be? - but he's having a good Formula 2 rookie season and while I suspect he's not an absolute megastar in the making, I really liked what I saw of him in FP1 at Silverstone: the way that he leant on the car in practice without taking it too far or doing anything silly, his feedback and feeling in the car, the progression through the session and just generally how he handled the whole thing.
It was top notch, because he only found out about it a few days before. So he had very little time to prepare, and he was dovetailing his F2 commitments with it as well. But he didn't put a foot wrong. It clearly left a mark on Williams, which wouldn't be putting him anywhere near a race seat - no matter how desperate it might be to get rid of Sargeant - if it felt Colapinto did not have the potential to make the most of it.
He'll face a steep learning curve, certainly, but why can't he rise to it? There will be opportunities to score points in this upgraded Williams. He's quick, he's mature, he's got a good attitude.
Liam Lawson showed last season that is a fine combination to have for a stand-in, and he didn't quite have a megastar-in-the-making junior career either.
Sargeant didn't make the most of his chance
Edd Straw
While the circumstances haven't been perfect for Sargeant’s season-and-a-half in F1, ultimately he hasn't been able to make the most of this opportunity.
Performance counts in F1 and although there have been plenty of promising flashes, he hasn't been able to coalesce into a driver who can deliver at the level he should be able to for his experience.
Williams will take some flak for what might seem a brutal decision, but without Williams there would have been no season in F2 and no chance in F1. There's a point where it's down to the drivers to show they are improving rapidly enough and he’s failed to do so even factoring in the circumstances.
Hopefully, Sargeant can take this experience and emerge from it a driver who can fulfil his potential elsewhere, most likely in another category.
There's genuine ability there and there's no question he could still have a successful career ahead of him.
Will Colapinto deliver on Williams's aim?
Gary Anderson
I’m not surprised that Logan Sargent is out. He hasn't brought Williams any points this season and he has cost it a considerable amount of money and, more importantly, component manufacturing time. One pair of hands or even your most sophisticated machine can only make so much stuff.
That said, I'm not sure that his replacement is someone that is going to fight for points (or even crash less) - though I will add here that I don't know much about Colapinto's racing history so I could be out of line with my assumptions.
If it was just about creating the best points-scoring opportunity there are others out there that might just have been a better choice. Perhaps none of them wanted to show their talent in a car that will at best be fighting for a spot in Q3 and thereafter potential points, and being compared to Alex Albon might just scare some up-and-coming drivers off, but if you have the confidence and if you show that you are at the same level or above then the sky might just be the limit.
My list would include but not exclusively extend to:
Sebastian Vettel: he would have nothing really to lose and if he could help Williams find its feet then why not?
Nyck de Vries: last time he was given the opportunity with Williams he took it with open arms and scored two points. That was before his career was ruined by the Red Bull management so he has a bit to prove.
Mick Schumacher: similar to de Vries, he was in a bad place at a bad time, Haas wasn’t really competitive when he drove for it so didn’t really have much of a chance to show his talent, Again, he's someone with something to prove.
Felipe Drugovich: when he's had a chance with Aston Martin he has done an exceptional job. He deserves a shot at a race seat.
Stoffel Vandoorne: he is lacking recent F1 experience but again, when he got his chance with McLaren it was under dubious circumstances. Again, like most of the above he has something to prove.
Liam Lawson would obviously be in that mix too, but he doesn't seem to be available on the terms that Williams wants or that Red Bull will agree to. I hope he doesn't miss out next season because of all this; he deserves a race seat.
There are lots of other up-and-coming drivers coming through Formula 3 and Formula 2 and I'm sure some of them could bring some budget to the show, but if I was in Williams's situation I would be going for experience, even if it's limited.
Sargeant's place became untenable
Glenn Freeman
The fact that Williams has decided it's worth the punt of replacing Sargeant with a rookie shows how untenable the American's place in the team had become.
Calling Colapinto a 'punt' might be slightly unfair, but dropping any driver in mid-season with so little F1 experience is a gamble.
Still, it's a gamble worth taking. Things can't go any worse with Williams's second car than they have up to this point. So while there is no guarantee that this change will make a big difference, Williams had reached a point with Sargeant where it had nothing to lose by replacing him.
Despite there being no surefire upgrade available to Williams, it's decided to pull the trigger anyway. I admire the bravery of deciding to give Colapinto his shot, and I hope it works out for him and the team.
Don't underestimate Colapinto
Josh Suttill
Colapinto has had a far from conventional route to F1 - but it's one that will serve him particularly well for this huge challenge.
He's nearly had his F1 dream obliterated a couples of times already, and yet he's bounced back each time with vengeance.
Colapinto was only 15 when he impressed Fernando Alonso enough to back his career and he's been thrown into enough different sportscars and single-seater championships to be more experienced and versatile than your average F2 rookie.
His FP1 debut showed how adaptable Colapinto is and Williams wouldn't be putting him in the car if he hadn't show the sort of potential in that one 60-minute session that can exceed what Sargeant's shown in a year and a half.
A huge leap of faith
Charley Williams
I’m not surprised to see Sargeant being replaced at Williams. His performances, through flashes of promise, have been poor, and ultimately he has cost the team a considerable amount of money in damages.
But I am surprised to see Colapinto as his replacement. If securing points and, more importantly, not racking up any more receipts is the goal, then I don't think Colapinto is the correct choice to achieve that - and there were certainly 'safer' options.
While his FP1 debut at Silverstone was impressive and he is undoubtedly talented, what value will a rookie with little experience and no drive with Williams for 2025 add?
It's a huge leap of faith for both parties - and a whole lot of pressure. I'm all for giving rookies their chance to shine, but in normal circumstances they are being given a full-time drive, not nine races to help turn around a team's season.
For the sake of Colapinto's future, I hope it works out for him.
