The 2024 IndyCar field features three former Formula 1 drivers. The most notable name on that list is Romain Grosjean, a veteran of 179 Grands Prix.
Grosjean started out in F1 with Renault in 2009, replacing Nelson Piquet Jr midway through the season in the midst of the ‘Crashgate’ scandal. He wouldn’t complete his first full season until 2012, when Lotus paired him with Kimi Raikkonen.
The Frenchman would score 10 podiums across four seasons with the team before leaving to join Haas in 2016. He competed in his final F1 race at the 2020 Bahrain Grand Prix, when he remarkably survived one of the worst crashes in the sport’s recent history.
Grosjean has been racing in IndyCar since 2021, with Marcus Ericsson among his opponents. The Swede took part in 97 races for Caterham and Sauber between 2014 and 2018, achieving a best result of eighth.
That just leaves Alexander Rossi, whose stint at the pinnacle of motorsport lasted just five Grands Prix. Marussia drafted him in for five races at the end of the 2015 campaign, replacing Roberto Merhi.
The US series has offered these ex-F1 drivers the chance to continue their career at a high level. And it seems that trio could soon become a quartet.
Logan Sargeant could confirm IndyCar move in July
According to Dutch journalist Jeroen Demmendaal, Logan Sargeant will ‘most likely’ race in IndyCar next year. Sargeant only joined the F1 grid in 2023, having finished fourth in the Formula 2 championship the previous year.
However, he’s struggled to extract the full potential of his Williams car since. Alex Albon has out-scored him 29-1 since the start of last year, and also leads him 31-0 in qualifying.
James Vowles is hopeful of signing Carlos Sainz to partner the Thai driver for 2025. Sargeant has reportedly held talks with Haas but Esteban Ocon is the favourite for the relevant vacancy.
Demmendaal says Sargeant’s return to homeland could be announced prior to F1’s summer break. There are still four races to go before that point, a run that concludes with the Belgian Grand Prix on 28 July.
“I understand from my last visit to the drafty parking garage that Logan Sargeant will most likely race in IndyCar in 2025,” he wrote on X. “A formal announcement would come in July, before the summer break. Watch this space!”
What Jenson Button has said about Sargeant
Sargeant has only finished 15th or higher in two out of 10 races so far this year. One of those instances came in Monaco, when Albon scored points in ninth.
If he had any chance of retaining his seat – which was doubtful anyway – then the last couple of races have surely removed it. He crashed out in Canada after qualifying a promising P13, and then finished last in Barcelona, having been slowest in qualifying too.
Williams generally struggled last weekend, with Albon only 18th. But Sargeant further damaged his reputation by picking up a three-place penalty in qualifying for impeding Lance Stroll.
Williams advisor Jenson Button has previously leapt to the defence of Sargeant. The 2009 world champion pointed out that he’s ‘won everything’ in the junior formulae and clearly has an abundance of ‘talent’.
But former F1 driver Juan-Pablo Montoya suspects that the 23-year-old already knows his time is up. And that may be why he’s putting plans in place to relaunch his career elsewhere.
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