The truth behind the recent axing of a Formula 1 star has been revealed at the Italian Grand Prix this weekend.
F1 teams are no strangers to making brutal mid-season switches if their drivers are not performing, but this ex-grid member was dealt a particularly cruel exit.
Red Bull are one team that are renowned for their ruthless driver decisions, most notably when they axed Pierre Gasly andAlex Albon from the team as they struggled to adapt to the role of Max Verstappen's team-mate.
In an even tougher comparison, Nyck de Vries was axed midway through last season for failing to perform at Alpha Tauri (VCARB), and was replaced for the rest of 2023 by Daniel Ricciardo.
Logan Sargeant is the most recent example of an F1 driver being axed mid-season, and has been replaced by Franco Colapinto for the rest of 2024.
Sargeant was the subject of a dramatic collision at the Dutch GP that saw his car burst into flames upon impact, causing millions in damages and therefore unable to compete in qualifying.
Williams boss James Vowles appeared unimpressed with Sargeant’s latest mistake, with the crash proving to be the last straw.
Following the decision to replace Sargeant, Sky F1 pundit Martin Brundle provided an insight into the reason for the sacking.
“Formula 1 is not a finishing school it’s the pinnacle,” he said at the Italian GP.
“If you don’t deliver then somebody else will come in and deliver that’s the way it operates, that’s the way you get your chance in the first place.”
“I’m not surprised they’ve had to make a change, nothing in Colapinto’s career to date shouts to me, ‘wow look out it’s going to be something special’, but I’ve learned over the decades to not judge anybody good or bad on their way in.”
“Let’s see how they do when the pressure is on.”
Colapinto, Sargeant's replacement, will get the chance to further prove himself at his first grand prix in Monza this weekend, having had the attention temporarily diverted away from him thanks to a spectacular crash in practice from fellow rookie, Kimi Antonelli.