Oscar Piastri faces a last-minute threat to his planned Formula 1 move after another promising young racer caught the eye of his prospective team boss.
The F2 champion is regarded as one of the hottest prospects in recent years, but was unable to secure a seat on the grid this season. He is contracted to Alpine, who already have Fernando Alonso and Esteban Ocon on the books.
The Spaniard is likely to extend his time in F1 beyond this year, meaning Alpine will still have no room for Piastri in 2023. So the Australian is set to be allowed to leave in a loan-style arrangement, with Williams the expected destination.
Nicholas Latifi's contract expires at the end of this year, and the Canadian is unlikely to have impressed enough to secure an extension. Alexander Albon is set to remain with the team, leaving one spot open for fresh blood at the struggling team.
Piastri has been lined up to fill that seat, with The Race reporting last month that he was "closing in" on securing the move. But there has been silence ever since, and now a new option has emerged for Williams to consider.
Logan Sargeant has been making waves in F2, winning the last two feature races with his Carlin team. The Florida-born star is a member of the Williams driver academy so is already familiar with the setup, and the fact he is American offers huge commercial potential.
And his form has not escaped the notice of team chief Jost Capito, who heaped praise on the 21-year-old. Asked by reporters if the team plans to test Sargeant with a run in an FP1 session this year, the German replied: "I think that would be obvious.
"Logan won the last two races in F2, he set the car on pole yesterday so I think he deserves to get into the car. Of course, we are impressed, it's his first season in F2.
"We didn't put any pressure on him so he has the time to develop and he's really impressed us how fast he got to grips with the car, the tyre management and getting results. How he got the pole yesterday was really impressive. I think he will be in a Formula 1 car in the future, I'm absolutely convinced."
