Red Bull and Mercedes offer replacement drivers for Logan Sargeant

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has suggested that Mick Schumacher could be Williams’ replacement for Logan Sargeant until the end of the season, while Red Bull boss Christian Horner has signalled his willingness to loan reserve driver Liam Lawson on condition for upcoming race weekends. The comments come after Sargeant’s mistake caused a huge crash on Saturday, the worst of any seen this season.

While Sargeant has been given another chance to prove his racing prowess this season, the American driver has failed to secure a single point so far. On the contrary, a series of accidents involving him and his Williams FW46 F1 this season has catapulted the team’s expenses to a considerable extent.

Saturday’s FP3 crash was the worst in recent years, with the car destroyed beyond repair for the qualifying session at Zandvoort. At Turn 4, Sargeant drove onto a patch of wet grass, causing his car to lose grip and spin before hitting the barriers.

The force of the impact sent his car flying across the track, but the rear end caught fire moments later. Fortunately, the 23-year-old managed to escape unharmed, but the car was in poor condition. Eventually, the team repaired his car for Sunday’s Grand Prix while ensuring they kept enough spare parts for Alex Albon’s FW46, in case a need arose during the weekend.

Team principal James Vowles has always been accommodating to Sargeant, pushing him to progress as a racing driver despite his contract ending towards the end of the year. But with Sargeant showing no signs of improvement so far, the team boss recently suggested that all options were open for Williams if he failed to show consistent results.

Wolff and Horner have offered their suggestions in case Williams intends to replace Sargeant before the end of this contract. When asked if he would be happy to see Schumacher race for Williams, he told the media:

“I really hope Mick gets his chance, because we haven’t seen the real Mick.

“He’s not winning in F4, F3 and F2 and he’s underperforming in Formula 1. I think he deserves a chance. I think the opportunity with Williams is something we would be delighted to have.”

Although Horner stressed that this was a matter more for Williams to decide, he agreed to loan Lawson on certain conditions. He added:

“It would depend on the conditions and if we needed him we could get him back quite quickly.

“But certainly if they needed a driver next weekend, you know, we would be open to that – but that’s a Williams question rather than a question for us to answer.”