One F1 driver is struggling in the knowledge that he may lose his seat, Ralf Schumacher says. With only four races of the season gone, there are already multiple stars feeling the heat.
This is partly the result of a unique driver market that sees more than half of the current field out of contract. Some are fighting for their future as their team eyes up potential free-agent alternatives.
Speaking on Sky Germany, Schumacher picked out one member of the grid in particular who’s letting the pressure get to him. The German drove for Jordan, Williams and Toyota in an F1 career that spanned a decade between 1997 and 2007.
Daniel Ricciardo is one of the drivers who needs to raise his game amid speculation that he could lose his seat to RB reserve Liam Lawson in the early part of the season. Helmut Marko has since rejected those rumours, but Yuki Tsunoda continues to dominate the intra-team battle.
Elsewhere, Lance Stroll may not be safe from the axe despite the fact his father Lawrence owns Aston Martin. The billionaire is apparently interested in Carlos Sainz, arguably the best driver on the market after Ferrari dropped him for Lewis Hamilton.
Ralf Schumacher names one driver making ‘too many mistakes’
Schumacher says Williams driver Logan Sargeant is finding it hard to shoulder the burden of expectation at the moment. Team boss James Vowles warned him in the winter that he had to be the ‘surprise of the season’ to keep his drive.
That’s after Alex Albon delivered 27 of Williams’ 28 points in 2023, Sargeant’s rookie year. Neither driver has been able to score so far this term, but the American is still yet to beat Albon on pace in any meaningful session.
In Australia, Sargeant suffered the embarrassment of being benched as Vowles allowed Albon to swap cars after he damaged his chassis in a practice crash. Williams didn’t have a spare available, and they elected to prioritise the driver they saw as their best chance of points.
“He just makes too many mistakes,” Schumacher said of Sargeant, who crashed himself in FP1 at Suzuka. “It just keeps coming back to the same thing – he’s simply overwhelmed and it’s time for him to realise it and probably do something different.”
Will Logan Sargeant lose his Williams seat?
Sargeant is so far off the pace that there’s talk that he may not even last the season. Journalist Joe Saward has suggested that Williams may replace him with Mercedes youngster Andrea Kimi Antonelli from September’s Italian Grand Prix onwards.
And even if Vowles does give him until the end of the year, there appears a strong chance that Antonelli will partner Albon in 2025, should Mercedes decide he’s not ready to replace Lewis Hamilton. Williams have also held talks with Sainz, though he may be out of reach.
Former Haas driver Mick Schumacher is also targeting a return to F1 with the Grove outfit. There’s a chance that he could replace Albon if the 28-year-old returns to Red Bull.
But the overriding sense is that Sargeant won’t be able to prove his worth to Williams in time to save his seat. And while he’s still one of the youngest drivers on the grid at 23, it’s unlikely that another team will take a punt on him.
The post ‘Makes too many mistakes’: Ralf Schumacher says under-pressure F1 driver is ‘simply overwhelmed’ right now appeared first on F1 Oversteer.