US F1 star criticized after car bursts into FLAMES at Zandvoort

US Formula 1 star Logan Sargeant has come in for criticism after a major blunder at the Dutch Grand Prix saw his car burst into flames.

F1 took to the Circuit Zandvoort on Saturday morning ahead of qualifying, with the final preparations being put into place ahead of the drivers setting their fastest lap times later in the day to set the grid for Sunday's premier event.

READ MORE: Session RED FLAGGED as Verstappen struggles

Wet weather and crashes wreaked havoc on the first day of practice in the Netherlands, with FP1 seeing limited meaningful running due to rain and FP2 headlined by Nico Hulkenberg's crash which induced a red flag.

However, the most dramatic incident was to come in FP3 this morning, with Williams' Logan Sargeant getting onto the grass and accelerating in what looked like a rookie error.

Sargeant's car spun out of control immediately, slamming into the barriers at Zandvoort and causing huge damage.

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Sargeant crash simply 'driver error' - Davidson

Sargeant's incident 20 minutes into the session immediately brought out the red flag, and the session did not resume until there were under two minutes to go, meaning drivers again did not get much useful running in.

The angle at which the Williams driver collided with the barrier collapsed the rear of the car and a fire started with the American still in the car.

He quickly jumped out having been alerted to this, after confirming over team radio that he was okay.

However, his car had suffered significant damage after bursting into flames.

Having spoken with Vowles on the pit wall during Sky Sports F1's coverage of the session, pundit and Mercedes simulator driver Anthony Davidson offered a very critical assessment of the situation, arguing it justified Williams' decision to axe Sargeant.

“For Logan, it’s another huge knock to your confidence," he said, referencing the fact that he had been informed over the summer break that he would not have a seat in 2025, with Williams opting to sign Carlos Sainz.

“From James' [Vowles] point of view, and from the team’s point of view, I guess what’s just happened there [the crash], brutally speaking here, it justifies their decision to swap the drivers and put a driver like Carlos Sainz in the car for next year because you have to try to minimize these kind of moments," said Davidson.

“Yes, it was driver error. There's no other way I can build this up: it was driver error. As a team principal, as a team, you have to try and minimize those moments.”

Sargeant is set to leave Williams at the end of 2024, with Alex Albon and Carlos Sainz confirmed as the team's driver pairing for 2025.

READ MORE: Verstappen THRASHED after Hamilton suffers disaster

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