Logan Sargeant will only have a ‘limited’ impact on F1’s US popularity, says Christian Horner

Christian Horner thinks Logan Sargeant, who will drive for Williams in 2023, will be 'limited' in terms of what he can do for F1's US popularity.

Logan Sargeant will only have a ‘limited’ impact on F1’s US popularity, says Christian Horner

Logan Sargeant (L) | Christian Horner (R)

The last time an American driver participated in a Formula 1 race was back in 2015 when Alexander Rossi drove in the 2015 Brazilian Grand Prix for Marussia. The last American to compete in a full F1 season was Scott Speed, back in 2006 with Toro Rosso. But now, American fans finally have a driver they can get behind on race weekends – Logan Sargeant. He will partner Alex Albon at Williams this season, and possibly beyond.

Sargeant will be the only driver on the grid that’ll have three home races next season. Moreover, one of them will be held in Miami. He was born in Fort Lauderdale, which is a part of Miami’s metropolitan area. So that really is a home race. But it would undoubtedly have been better for the audiences if Sargeant was driving a better package. The reality is that Williams were the worst-performing team in 2022. A realistic appraisal is them moving into the lower midfield.

YouTube video

F1 has been growing bigger and bigger in the US, especially since ‘Drive to Survive’ came out, and in Sargeant, they at least have a driver to cheer for now. But his current situation (not at the forefront) is why Christian Horner feels that Sargeant will be ‘limited’ in terms of what he can do for the sport’s US popularity. In an interview with the New York Post, he said: “It’s great to have him there and he’s a talented young guy [but] he’s going to be limited in what he can do.”

FS Video

He then gave the example of his own driver, Sergio Perez, and Fernando Alonso. Both are incredibly popular and brought loads of fans (from their country) into F1. Horner added: “The problem is, if you’re finishing 14th or 15th it doesn’t really turn people on. I think if he was fighting at the front in a competitive car, then you’d see [something like] what happened with Fernando [Alonso] in Spain, or Checo [Perez] and the reaction in Mexico,”

Read More: Logan Sargeant was ‘100% sure’ in 2021 that his F1 chances were ‘dead’

Christian Horner: ‘Formula 1 needs an American Max Verstappen’

Christian Horner
Christian Horner

So, yes, it’s true that Logan Sargeant is starting literally from the bottom. As that’s where his team finished last season. Perhaps currently, he will not do much for the sport’s popularity in the US. So what will? In Christian Horner’s opinion, that’ll be: “Imagine if there was an American Max Verstappen. What we need is a young, talented, competitive American driver.”

Apart from Sargeant, there are currently three pretty young American drivers in Formula 2. There’s Juan Manuel Correa (23), Brad Benavides (21), and 17-year-old Jak Crawford. The latter is part of the Red Bull junior team as well. There’s also Colton Herta (22), who AlphaTauri wanted as their replacement for Pierre Gasly. But they failed to get a Super License exemption for him. He currently races for Andretti in IndyCar.

Mario Andretti has previously said that Herta will 99% be in their team if their bid for the Formula 1 entry is successful. They’re clearly a very big organization and will hope to compete in the front. Andretti (along with General Motors) themselves will do a lot of F1’s popularity in the US, but having an American driver in the mix will be the cherry on top.

In case you missed it: