Qualifying for the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix at Imola produced one of the tensest battles at the front of the grid we’ve seen this season.
Max Verstappen narrowly finished ahead of both McLaren drivers in Imola with his teammate Sergio Perez missing out on Q3 altogether.
Speaking on the P1 with Matt & Tommy Podcast, Formula 1 commentator Alex Jacques was focusing on events towards the back of the grid.
The big talking point in Q1 was Fernando Alonso being eliminated, setting the slowest time of the session.
He’s got a huge job on his hands if he wants to score points on Sunday, although he won’t start in last place in the Grand Prix.
That’s because Williams driver Logan Sargeant had his fastest time deleted and the team might be running out of patience with the American driver.
Team principal James Vowles has already told, via Sky Sports, the 23-year-old that he needs to improve his performance.
The pressure is beginning to build on Sargeant with drivers lining up to potentially replace him.
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Williams running out of patience with Logan Sargeant
The last week has highlighted how Williams feel about their two drivers.
In the last few days, a driver swap between Sargeant and Mercedes junior Kimi Antonelli has been touted before the end of the season.
Meanwhile, Williams extended the contract of star driver Alex Albon meaning he’ll definitely be with the team for when the sport’s new regulations are introduced in 2026.
They’ll be hoping to build their future around the Thai driver, although both drivers are yet to score a point this season.
That looks unlikely to change in Imola with Sargeant starting last and Albon needing to make up a minimum of four places from 14 to score his first point.
It’s easy to understand why Williams might be running out of patience with Sargeant.
The American has once again failed to close the gap to his teammate and with the midfield battle so close this year, Williams simply can’t afford to carry a driver when every point is going to count at the end of the season.
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Logan Sargeant’s Formula 1 future is in serious doubt
Asked about Sargeant’s future, Jacques said: “On Logan [Sargeant], the team have run out of patience, haven’t they?
“They’ve publicly said that he’s under pressure, we know that Williams have requested a special dispensation to run someone younger than 18 years of age to have a superlicense.
“We know that’s Kimi Antonelli, so the writing’s on the wall for Logan.”
Jacques went on to say that it’s looking like Sargeant’s ‘final season’ in the sport which won’t come as a surprise to anyone.
Sargeant is one of several drivers on the grid who is out of contract at the end of the season.
If Williams are already running out of patience with him, then it’s in Sargeant’s best interest to start preparing for 2025 and beyond now.
It’s understood that his management have suggested talks with Haas over one of their available seats for next year.
An American partnership might appeal commercially to Haas, but the calibre of available drivers for next season would surely put Sargeant a long way down their shortlist.
All he can do is try and improve his performance on the track in the coming races.
He needs a strong display in Imola, especially with the eyes of the world on Kimi Antonelli in Formula 2 just before the Grand Prix.
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