F1 driver Logan Sargeant returns home for Miami Grand Prix, wants to make Americans proud

Formula One driver Logan Sargeant describes himself as a laid-back kid from Florida. He just enjoys an adrenaline rush more than the average person.

Sargeant, 22, is living a lifelong dream — one he and his family moved mountains to achieve. And as the only American driver on the grid, he carries with him the hopes and aspirations of F1 fans across the U.S. who have seen little to no representation in the sport for decades.

On Sunday, he’ll climb into the cockpit of his Williams FW45 car as a grand prix racer in the Miami Grand Prix — less than an hour from where he was born in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

No pressure, right?

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Sargeant said he is expecting an incalculable number of friends and family in attendance this weekend.

“It’s going to be special,” Sargeant said. “Just the opportunity to have friends, family and the home atmosphere and crowd is something I’ve always looked forward to being able to feel.”

Still, Sargeant knows his rookie season is about more than a Sunday drive on home soil. He wants to make an impact, wants to prove he belongs in F1 and wants American fans to feel proud when they see him behind the wheel.

“I’m extremely motivated and I want to represent our country to the best of my ability,” Sargeant said, “and I’m going to let my driving do the talking from there.”

How did Logan Sargeant get to F1?

Sargeant, just four races into his first F1 season, prepared his entire life to race at the pinnacle of motorsport.

The American found success as an 8-year-old competing in the Florida Winter Tour, a karting championship with racing stops all over the Sunshine State, but still dreamed of more. The ultimate goal of F1 still felt too far away. An entire ocean away, actually.

“I think at the time we were doing really well in America in terms of racing,” Sargeant said. “But everyone always said the best competition is in Europe. I feel like it was really just looking for the best competition and challenging ourselves to get in the best position going forward.

“We just went for it.”

Sargeant left friends and family behind, relocating to Europe at 12 years old. He worked his way through the ranks — making his mark on multiple Formula 4 series as well as Formula 3 — before becoming the first American driver to win a Formula 2 race in 2022.

Around the same time, F1’s popularity was rapidly growing in the U.S. thanks to Netflix’s "Drive To Survive" docuseries that debuted in 2019. That, combined with F1 not having an American driver since Alexander Rossi in 2015, made Sargeant’s meteoric rise impossible to ignore. Williams F1 team signed him to a contract for the 2023 season.

Why is it so hard for American drivers to make it to F1?

There are multiple reasons just a fraction of American drivers have come and gone through the F1 paddock compared to other racing-obsessed countries.

F1, despite its purchase by American company Liberty Media in 2017, is a historically European operation. Its marquee events are based in Great Britain, Italy and other European countries. Almost all teams have manufacturing headquarters in Europe. Even Haas, the lone American team on the F1 grid, has a base of operations on the continent.

And it may come as a surprise to new fans of the sport, but there was a time not too long ago when there was virtually no sign of American influence in F1.

And although F1 will hold a record three races in the United States in 2023, it went four years without a U.S. grand prix from 2008-12. It did not have a single U.S. team for nearly 30 years until Haas entered the fray in 2015.

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It is also required by the FIA, the global governing body of motorsport, for all F1 drivers to have a valid super license. These licenses are obtained in part by accruing a certain number of points based on championship standing in lower-level racing series. However, far more points are available to drivers who compete in Europe compared to American series such as IndyCar or IndyLights, among others.

Although Sargeant said the super license wasn’t a factor in his family’s decision to relocate to Europe — the points system wasn’t implemented until 2015 — he acknowledged it’s long been known that American drivers have faced a seemingly impossible road to reach F1 unless they make the move.

“The best way to get to Formula One is through Europe,” Sargeant said. “I feel like that’s been clear over the history of the sport. We knew we wanted to go that route to help me be the best driver I could be and ultimately reach Formula One.”

Will American F1 fans rally around Sargeant?

Sargeant feels some discredit his American status due to him spending almost half his life living in Europe. Calling himself an “American through and through,” it isn’t an opinion Sargeant shares.

“Maybe they don’t think I’m as American as I should be,” Sargeant said. “I feel like I’m very proud to represent America. That’s sort of embedded in me in terms of the American culture. That’ll never be taken away from me.”

Sargeant said he does not feel outside pressure as an American driver, insisting no weight can be greater than the one he puts on himself. Still, the Williams rookie is the lone representative of a newly F1-crazed country. There will be eyeballs, and lots of them.

The results may not come — at least not right away. In each season since 2018, Williams has finished eighth or worse out of 10 teams. Once a dominant outfit in the 1980s and 90s, Williams has fallen to the back of the grid while struggling for consistent finishes in the last 20 years.

It may not be an easy journey at first for Sargeant or his supporters, but opportunities with other teams could materialize if Sargeant performs well and Williams continues to struggle.

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“I want to be able to learn and adapt as quickly as possible to be at the top of my game,” Sargeant said of the opportunity with Williams. “If I perform to the best of my ability, the results will come so it’s not something to really worry about. I just really want to enjoy it and take it all in.”

Sargeant insists he hasn’t yet considered what it might feel like atop an F1 podium, where the race winner hears their home country’s national anthem played. Somewhat incredibly, “The Star-Spangled Banner” hasn’t been played at an F1 grand prix — with the exception of pre-race ceremonies at those held in the U.S. — since Mario Andretti won the 1978 Dutch Grand Prix.

“Not getting too far ahead of myself,” Sargeant said with a wide smile. “But hopefully, one day, it happens.”

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Who is Logan Sargeant, American F1 driver at 2023 Miami Grand Prix?