Sargeant already 'knows' his future - Montoya

Ex-Williams F1 driver Juan Pablo Montoya believes Logan Sargeant's fate is already sealed - contending the he "knows" it too, even if it has not yet been communicated.

The Colombian, who raced for the Grove-based outfit between 2001 and 2004, before a season-and-a-half with McLaren, feels that once the American driver's future is confirmed to him, he will be able to "relax and focus on his future", which will most likely be outside of F1.

A former member of the Williams driver academy, Sargeant stepped up to F1 at the start of 2023, but has struggled to compete with team-mate Alexander Albon. Last term, he was out-scored by the 28-year-old by 27 points to one, and has never out-qualified the Thai-British driver in a grand prix grid-setting session.

Whilst many believe the 23-year-old should not have been retained for this season, Williams showed its faith in him. However, despite a step forward in performance, it is widely considered to not be enough, with Montoya arguing it is already a done deal.

“He already knows, although they haven’t officially told him yet that he will no longer stay with the team,” the 48-year-old said on W Radio Colombia.

“The moment they tell him: ‘Look, thank you very much for the past years, we gave you the opportunity, but it didn’t work, what a shame’, they can also tell him to relax and focus on his future.

“Then Logan will relax a lot more, he will no longer fight for that seat and it will be really difficult for him to stay in Formula 1.”

In the ultra-competitive F1 driver market, it looks unlikely Sargeant will find an opportunity elsewhere, and his name has not been reported to be in contention for any of the other open seats.

Despite this, Montoya feels it is worth inquiring, but does maintain his future most likely lies in another series, such as IndyCar or endurance racing.

“If I were him, I would first talk to everyone to see whether there is interest from another team,” the seven-time grand prix winner added, “but I would also start looking at IndyCar, WEC and other options for next year."

Sargeant graduated to F1 after just one season in F2 - having had to do an extra year in FIA F3 due to budgetary issues. 

The American driver -  who ran Oscar Piastri close for the Formula 3 title in 2020, in a three-way fight with recent axed McLaren IndyCar racer Theo Pourchaire - finished is sole F2 campaign in fourth, and as the highest-placed rookie.

Montoya, however, points out that previous strong performances in junior categories is not enough, and that Sargeant's errors have led to this point.

“He’s had a tough time and it’s difficult. If you look at his performance in F3 and F2, he was very good," he said.

“It’s sad because if you ask [Alexander] Albon, he will say Sargeant is very fast, he does very well, but he makes a lot of stupid mistakes.”