F1 News
Does Vowles regret not replacing Logan Sargeant earlier?
After a difficult stint at Williams for Logan Sargeant, team principal James Vowles made the call to replace the American with at the time Formula 2 driver and Williams junior Franco Colapinto ahead of the Italian Grand Prix. Since then, Colapinto has already scored his first points, and left a good impression on the paddock. Therefore, does the Briton regret not making that switch earlier?
After a season and a half where Sargeant earned a single point, Vowles did decide to promote Colapinto until the end of the 2024 season, when Carlos Sainz will join the team from Ferrari. However, according to the team principal, the team first had to prepare the Argentinian to join the competition.
Vowles wouldn't change Colapinto's development path
"It's an interesting question, because in part a lot of what we were doing with him behind the scenes is developing him ready for this opportunity. So Silverstone was one of the first times he got into the car and he'd made a step clearly from where we were in Abu Dhabi the previous year. He made some steps across the winter. He'd made some steps in Formula 2. If we'd done this at the beginning of the year, I don't think you'd see the Franco you have today," Vowles began.
"In terms of that regret, making a decision to take a driver out is one of the hardest things you can do in my position. And I had to make sure it was abundantly clear it was the right place. And for me, at the point where we upgraded the car and we've delivered performance with it, where it can score points, that's the right line in the sand. So from that perspective, I'm content," he concluded on the driver swap.
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