GROVE, England (AP) — Argentina was for many years one of the main protagonists in Formula 1: it is the country of the multiple champion Juan Manuel Fangio, hosted a Grand Prix until 1998, and 22 drivers competed in over 250 races. But the last one was Gastón Mazzacane in 2001 and since then a long drought began that was felt painfully in a country passionate about motor racing competitions.
That bad streak will end this weekend, as the team decided to cut American driver Logan Sargeant due to his poor results and give a seat to Argentine driver Franco Colapinto from the Italian Grand Prix until the end of the season.
The Grove team indicated that Colapinto will accompany Thai driver Alex Albon for the next nine races, until the end of the 2024 championship.
Why did Williams cut Logan Sargeant?
The driver has competed in 36 F1 races since joining Williams for the 2023 season, and his best result this season had been an 11th place. He had crashed in the practice sessions of the Dutch Grand Prix last week and finished 16th in the race.
His best result was the 10th place in the United States Grand Prix of 2023.
"Replacing a driver mid-season is not a decision we have taken lightly, but we believe this gives Williams the best chance to compete for points for the remainder of the season," said the team director, James Vowles, in a statement. "We have just given a significant upgrade to the car and we need to maximize every opportunity to score points in a notably tight battle in the midfield."
Sargeant was going to be replaced for the next season anyway, as Williams had announced the hiring of Spanish driver Carlos Sainz Jr. from Ferrari.
Who is Franco Colapinto, the new Argentine in F1?
Colapinto, 21 years old, was competing for the MP Motorsport team in the FIA Formula 2 championship, which is the stepping stone to F1, and although it has a shorter calendar, they race on the same weekend as the main category.
The Argentine pilot was in sixth place in the F2 classification and had achieved a victory.
“Joining F1 mid-season will be a huge learning curve, but I am ready for the challenge, and I am fully focused on working as hard as I can with Alex and the team to make it a success,” said Colapinto.