F1 Shake-Up: Vowles Critiques Sargeant

Williams F1’s Vowles openly critiques Sargeant, Colapinto, and Schumacher’s performance levels.

In Monza, James Vowles discussed the drastic and radical choices he made, including the immediate removal of Logan Sargeant from the second seat and opting for Franco Colapinto over Mick Schumacher or Liam Lawson.

Let’s take things in order. First, the dismissal of Logan Sargeant.

Does James Vowles acknowledge the extremity of his decision? Why not wait until the end of the year?

“If you talk to any team director, no one wants to change drivers mid-season. It’s horrible. It’s incredibly tough on the driver, tough on the team, disruptive.”

“So why change now? The most opportune time would have been at the start of the year. But Logan, at the end of last year, was getting within a tenth of Alex. It was good to see his progression, and if that continued, I think the driver would be very well positioned this year. It wasn’t the right time to cut ties and sever links because of that.”

“The reason is simple: we have enough experience to know he has reached his capacity limit. In fact, it’s almost unfair to him to continue like this.”

“Look at his face when he gets out of the car, he has given you everything he could and it’s not enough. From a human standpoint, he’s never done anything but give me 100% of what he was capable of.”

“But the realization of his limits is very clear, clear to everyone. It’s the right decision for all parties. It’s a fair decision for Logan.”

“What I wanted to do was give what I thought was enough time for Logan to show where he was at on tracks where I know we can perform.”

For James Vowles, Logan Sargeant’s crash with the upgrades in EL3 at Zandvoort was not the sole factor. The overall pace of the American was far more concerning.

“At the beginning of the year, we had the responsibility to build a car fast enough. We didn’t do it. From Zandvoort, I think we’ve built a car capable of scoring points and that’s where the point of decision changes.”

“In this case, it really happened after Sunday’s race, and I examined his data in enough detail to see where he was in terms of performance, what was happening.”

“And it wasn’t just one area, there was still a lack of pace, and where he finished, he was simply too far behind.”

Mick Schumacher, a driver who is nothing special

It was then a matter of replacing Logan Sargeant as quickly as possible.

Was the Lawson track initially a priority for Vowles, as has been reported?

“If we look at the options available to us, there were three options on the table, which you all more or less understood.”

“One was Liam Lawson, another Mick, and the third Franco. With Liam, the contractual position with Red Bull wouldn’t have worked with me here at Williams, so it wasn’t an option for us under those circumstances.”

As for the Mick Schumacher option, why not agree to explore it? According to James Vowles, is the German simply not up to par?

“He’s a competent driver. I know he had a stint in F1, but he’s done an incredible job with Alpine, with Mercedes, and with McLaren in the meantime. And all his supporters, if you talk to them, will tell you where he has adapted and where he has changed.”

“I think Mick would have done a good job. But do we invest in someone who is part of our academy, who has done hundreds, if not thousands, of laps in our simulator, who has driven the car, the only driver to have driven the car this year during free practice [at Silverstone]… or not?”

James Vowles thus made a decision: between two “non-special” drivers by his own admission (Franco Colapinto and Mick Schumacher), he chose the one from the Williams F1 academy.

“I think these two drivers would fall into the ‘good’ category, but not ‘special’. I think it’s important to be clear about that.”

“Mick isn’t special. He’s just been good. I think he would have much more experience than Franco.”

“But the future of Williams isn’t about investing in the past. It’s about investing in talents that allow us to move forward as individuals. When we invest so much money in the academy, we need to walk the talk.”

And for those doubting Colapinto’s potential, James Vowles takes the opportunity to throw a subtle jab at Oliver Bearman and Andrea Kimi Antonelli, in a comparison that’s somewhat unfair since Prema is struggling this year with the F2 cars.

“Franco is ahead of [Kimi] Antonelli in the F2 championship. He’s ahead of Bearman. He’s at MP [Motorsport]—with all due respect to MP, it’s not PREMA, it’s not ART—and he’s doing a good job.”

“Now, do I think we’ve thrown someone in at the deep end all of a sudden? Absolutely, 100%.”

“But if you listen to Franco’s own words, you’ll hear that he’s ready for this, he’s up for the challenge. He knows what’s coming.”

“And when we invest so much money in the academy, we also need to walk the talk.”