F1 team principal hints at mid-season driver AXE

A Formula 1 team principal has hinted at a potential mid-season driver replacement, claiming his driver 'has to earn' his seat.

There have been plenty of transfers in recent weeks, with F1's 'silly season' really hotting up since the stunning announcement that Lewis Hamilton would be joining Ferrari ahead of 2025.

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One driver who was directly impacted by that move was Carlos Sainz, who will be replaced by the seven-time world champion, leaving him looking for a new team.

Last week, Sainz put months of speculation to bed by signing a multi-year contract with Williams, despite having previously been linked with the likes of Red Bull, Mercedes and Audi.

Sargeant under pressure

Sainz's move to Williams means that Logan Sargeant will be out of a seat, and unlikely to be given another opportunity elsewhere due to his poor performances since joining the F1 grid.

Sargeant has only scored one point in his F1 career, a career that started on the first race of the 2023 season.

While showing marginal improvement at some races, the American has made silly mistakes at others in 2024, costing his team a shot at points-scoring positions, and ultimately costing him his seat in the sport.

While Sainz will take that seat in 2025, there have been some rumours that Williams might look to replace Sargeant earlier than that, promoting a young driver into the seat for the second half of the 2024 season.

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Now, Williams team principal James Vowles has opened up on this possibility, stating that he hopes Sargeant can do enough to see out the season.

"As I've said time and time again, I've done everything possible, and I will continue to do so to give him the platform where he can do so," Vowles told the F1 Nation podcast.

"In other words, I want him to see out the season. I want him. He's a Williams academy driver, he will remain a Williams academy driver. We've invested in him, not just in two years of Formula 1 but also in his F2 career and otherwise, and we have a responsibility towards him as well.

"He deserves to be a professional driver, he's one of the 20 best Formula 1 drivers in the world. Stop there. As long as he earns it, he has a seat, but he has to earn it.

"I would say the blunt truth behind it, and I've told him as well, Silverstone and Budapest, good job, he did move forward, you can see he's seconds off Alex [Albon] and Alex is faster than people think. But in Spa, we weren't there, and we have to understand why together, what's different and will it apply to future races, and that's the blunt truth behind it."

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