BREAKING: Williams driver Logan Sargeant out of the 2023 F1 Azerbaijan GP Sprint

Williams driver Logan Sargeant has withdrawn from the 2023 Azerbaijan sprint race after his massive shunt in the first round of the sprint shootout.

The British team was unable to mend his car in time for the short race taking place on Saturday evening.

Sargeant was on a flying lap before he got distracted by both Ferraris whilst heading into the final sector. As a result, the American took an incorrect line after the castle section, with the right side of his car crashing into the Tecpro barrier at high speed.

The rear end of his car was subsequently completely mangled, with the rookie trying his best to drive it back to the pits. However, race control decided to red-flag the session, leading to massive losses for the bottom five drivers.

Luckily, the Williams driver got out of the car unscathed despite his massive shunt and walked back to his garage. The silver lining for Sargeant is that the sprint race awards only eight points to the winner, minimizing his losses.

However, with his 2023 challenger in terrible condition after the crash, it is still unclear whether he will be able to take part in the main race on Sunday.

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Williams boss defends Logan Sargeant after 'pay driver' accusations

Williams team boss James Vowles has spoken out in support of Logan Sargeant, stating that the driver earned his place in the sport based purely on his talent. Sargeant faced criticism after a mistake during qualifying in Jeddah and a collision with Nyck de Vries during the 2023 Australian GP.

Sargeant is the first American driver on the grid since Alexander Rossi's brief four-race stint in 2015. Despite doubts about his abilities and accusations of being a 'pay driver', the British team invested significantly in Sargeant's F2 career. His second-place finish in last year's campaign demonstrated his talent and potential in the sport.

Vowles has defended his driver, claiming that he is in the sport purely on merit. The Briton cites the American's driving data as his main source of confidence. The Williams boss said, as quoted by Motorsport:

“I now have the ability to look at his data and he is here on merit. As a result of Williams investing correctly in him, he's now a professional, deserving driver on the grid.”

Logan Sargeant made a strong impression in his GP debut in Bahrain, finishing just two spots behind his highly-rated teammate, Alex Albon, in 13th place. He followed this up with a 16th-place finish in Saudi Arabia.

However, his F1 career is currently being tainted by his tendency to crash, putting his reputation and future career in jeopardy.