F1 driver in danger of losing job because of Mercedes boss Toto Wolff
Formula One struggler Logan Sargeant is now at risk of losing his job because of a key decision made by Mercedes chief Toto Wolff. The German constructors continue to plot plans for Lewis Hamilton’s replacement, which could mean Sargaent is booted off the grid.
It’s been a torrid 2024 season for Sargeant so far. Sitting bottom of the driver standings, the American is yet to finish higher than 14th and is in danger of being frozen out with his contract expiring at the end of 2024. The Williams man, who made his F1 debut last year, has struggled to adapt to the sport, with talk he could be culled beginning to grow.
Mercedes team principal Wolff is said to want up-and-coming star Andrea Kimi Antonelli to join the Mercedes constructor, but not until he’s gained F1 experience elsewhere. One of the solutions Wolff and co. are currently looking at is signing Antonelli to Williams, before making the switch to Mercedes later in his racing career.
That’s according to F1 journalist Joe Saward, who claims that should Antonelli be signed to Mercedes, he’ll be loaned to Williams as a replacement for Sargeant as per GB Blog. While no timescale has been attached to this move yet, given Antonelli doesn’t turn 18 until August – and therefore isn’t currently eligible for a super licence – it’s likely to come at the end of the 2024 season.
Antonelli has been working closely with Wolff and Mercedes in recent months, having test-driven an old 2021 W12 car in Austria. Commenting on the 17-year-old’s future, Wolff said: “[The test] is going to be there with a 2021 car. We want to give him the feeling of what a really good car looks like, and then we are going to put him in the 2022 car to see what the difference is
