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Williams is evaluating which drivers may be available to replace Logan Sargeant for the remainder of the 2024 Formula 1 season, as a mid-season change looks likelier now.
Sargeant had a huge crash in final practice at Zandvoort on Saturday, causing extensive damage on the first weekend for a major upgrade Williams has brought for both cars.
It caused Sargeant to miss qualifying and he will start at the back of the grid in the race, while team-mate Alex Albon qualified in the top 10 - although Albon was then disqualified due to a problem with the width of his new floor.
Sargeant is one of three full-time drivers yet to score a point this season and is being replaced by Carlos Sainz at Williams next year.
His flashes of potential have failed to translate into consistent performances and the needless Zandvoort accident - caused by running onto the grass in wet conditions - was just the latest costly accident on top of that.
Sargeant crashed out of the Canadian Grand Prix and shunted heavily in practice in Japan, where he also went off in the race. Last year he had another practice accident in Japan, and at Zandvoort too in qualifying, and nosed into the barrier in Singapore during the grand prix.
Williams boss James Vowles has left the door open to replacing Sargeant during the 2024 season for several months. He has never guaranteed Sargeant’s place is secure, and instead stated he must earn it – which, with this latest crash, is now seriously in doubt.
Auto Motor und Sport quotes Vowles as saying he does not “want to make an emotional decision now” but is evaluating multiple options, and the German publication reports that Vowles spoke with Mercedes boss Toto Wolff about reserve driver Mick Schumacher’s potential availability.
By Sunday at Zandvoort, doubts about Sargeant's seat had grown bigger than at any point this season.
It is a shame given Sargeant had been on his best run of form a few races ago, qualifying decently compared to Albon even though his race results were still worse. But he went into the summer break off the back of an awful Belgian Grand Prix weekend and the Zandvoort crash was the worst way to return to action.
Would Red Bull loan Lawson?
Replacing Sargeant depends on Vowles having a cast-iron upgrade to throw in for a maximum of nine races, if this is pushed through in time for next week’s Italian Grand Prix at Monza – a much better place to make the change than the following races in Singapore and Azerbaijan.
The ideal stand-in would be Liam Lawson, Red Bull’s reserve driver who is all but certain to have a race seat somewhere in 2025. Lawson drove five races for the RB team (in its AlphaTauri identity) last season as a replacement for the injured Daniel Ricciardo and scored points in Singapore, so he has proven he can be dropped in and perform to a good level.
But Williams would need Red Bull’s blessing to take him on as a short-term option and Red Bull may need Lawson itself before the end of the year. A driver shake-up with either Sergio Perez or Daniel Ricciardo being replaced in-season cannot be ruled out, and in either case, Lawson would find himself on the 2024 grid in one of the Red Bull teams.
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner suggested at Zandvoort this week that Red Bull could loan Lawson to another team. That seemed to be regarding a longer-term opportunity, like the full 2025 season if none of the Red Bull seats are given to him, and Williams only needs a driver on a short-term basis.
Plus, RB is pushing for sixth in the championship and giving a rival midfield team a strong driver would be self-defeating, as even if Williams is unlikely to overhaul RB in the standings, Lawson could easily take points away from the Red Bull team in the upgraded FW46.
"It depends on which terms, and if we needed him back that we could have him back quite quickly," Horner said at the end of the Zandvoort weekend.
"If they needed a driver next weekend, we’d be open to that.
"But that’s a Williams question rather than one for us."
And letting Red Bull be able to recall Lawson would surely be a problem for Williams.
Why Schumacher's in the mix
The difficulty in getting Lawson on favourable terms seems to be why Schumacher is in the picture.
The Mercedes driver would be easier to get and, while he has been out of F1 for a year and a half, he does have two seasons of experience driving for Haas to call on - and did score points in that time.
Schumacher has been racing in the World Endurance Championship for Alpine alongside his F1 reserve opportunities but in addition to simulator work, he has also kept sharp on-track, driving 2022 Alpine and McLaren machinery in old-car tests.
Schumacher has not been regarded by other teams as a viable full-time candidate since losing his Haas seat. And it should be noted his own short-lived F1 career was beset by crashes and ultimately underdelivering.
Given he is still considered by some to be an outsider for the vacant Audi-owned Sauber seat in 2025, a chance to race in the final grands prix of 2024 could be an audition there - amplifying the pressure on him, and potentially encouraging mistakes that Williams can ill-afford.
The left-field rookies
The only alternative would be to bank on a total rookie. The ‘don’t help a championship rival’ rationale would presumably preclude Alpine from loaning out its 2025 driver Jack Doohan.
Mercedes-bound Kimi Antonelli is a hugely talented young driver and Mercedes doesn't have to worry about boosting Williams's 2024 total. But he's the least refined of all given he is in his rookie F2 season, hasn't driven in free practice yet and has just turned 18.
Plus, Wolff has emphatically ruled that out - Antonelli will drive for Mercedes in FP1 at Monza, but as far as gaining race experience at Williams this season goes, Wolff's said "that's not gonna happen".
Aston Martin reserve Felipe Drugovich has been linked and could bring financial backing that would be welcome at Williams given its crash damage this season, but he has spent two seasons on the sidelines and has no F1 race experience.
Williams also has its own alternative in-house rookie, in Formula 2 race winner Franco Colapinto.
The Williams junior drove in FP1 at Silverstone and impressed the team with his speed and consistency. As a member of the young driver academy, it could appeal to replace Sargeant while backing another of its own talents.
However, Colapinto's inexperience would make him a risk, so the disruption to his F2 campaign given there is no 2025 seat on the table may not be worthwhile.
