Shocking decision by Logan Sargeant: he leaves the ELMS series and considers retiring from motorsport.
Like a bolt from the blue, the IDEC SPORT team, competing in the ELMS championship in the LMP2 class, has announced that, just about a month before the start of the 2025 season, Logan Sargeant will not take part in the series with the French team. This marks a shocking U-turn by the American driver, who had announced his switch to closed-wheel racing just over two months ago, on December 4, 2024.
In the brief statement released by the IDEC Sport team, the reason behind the American driver’s decision becomes clear: “Following the decision of Logan Sargeant to stepping away from the sport to pursue other interests, IDEC SPORT and Genesis Magma Racing are taking note of his decision and will announce his substitute in the next few days. We wish Logan all the best in his projects.”
Therefore, according to the announcement from the French team, Sargeant has reportedly chosen to leave the ELMS championship—and motorsport in general—to pursue other opportunities. However, as of now, the American driver has yet to release an official statement about his future.
Logan Sargeant made his Formula 1 debut in 2023 with Williams, bringing an American driver back to the grid for the first time since Alexander Rossi in 2015. This came at a time when Formula 1 had gained significant popularity in the United States, thanks to the success of the Netflix series Drive to Survive and the addition of two new Grand Prix events in Miami and Las Vegas.
The American driver, after a promising start and showing good speed in qualifying, gradually faded, so much so that by the end of the 2023 season, he had only earned one point, which came in his home race in Austin, compared to the 27 points accumulated by his teammate, Alexander Albon.
Despite the challenges, Williams reaffirmed their trust in the American driver, keeping him on for the 2024 season. However, Sargeant’s results did not improve, and during the third race of the season in Australia, he was forced to hand over his car to teammate Albon after the Thai driver was involved in an incident during FP3, which irreparably damaged the chassis of his FW46.
Sargeant’s 2024 season ended after just 15 races, as, on the eve of the Italian Grand Prix, Williams’ team principal James Vowles announced his replacement by Franco Colapinto, also in anticipation of Carlos Sainz’s arrival in 2025. This marked the end of his Formula 1 career, with 37 races and just one point earned.
Towards the end of 2024, Sargeant was called to take part in an IndyCar test with the Meyer Shank Racing team at The Thermal Club circuit in California. Despite posting the third-fastest time of the day, the American team was unable to offer him a seat for the 2025 season, as they had already confirmed their lineup with Felix Rosenqvist and Marcus Armstrong.
There had also been talk of a possible return for the 24-year-old from Fort Lauderdale to Prema, which will make its IndyCar debut in 2025. However, the Grisignano di Zocco-based team decided to assign the second car to Robert Shwartzman, alongside the already confirmed Callum Ilott.
With all possibilities of moving to the top American series closed, on December 4, 2024, Logan Sargeant confirmed his switch to the ELMS championship in the LMP2 class with the IDEC SPORT team. It would have been a return to the series for the American driver, after having participated in two races with Racing Team Turkey in 2021, even securing a pole position on his debut at the Red Bull Ring. However, this return will not materialize.
PHOTO: IDEC SPORT Racing, Williams Racing, Logan Sargeant.