Seven reasons why US drivers like Logan Sargeant struggle to make it in Formula 1

While countless American drivers have tried their hand at Formula 1, few have been considered truly great — and it’s getting harder for those Americans to break into the sport. But why?

After Logan Sargeant’s axe from Williams, we are going to dig into some of the biggest reasons why American drivers face a long uphill battle into the ranks of Formula 1 — and why that’s such a recent issue.

Yes, American drivers had it easier in the past

Before we start, I think it’s important to illustrate the strange problems faced by American drivers.

If you look at the list of American drivers to enter and race in Formula 1, you’ll probably notice something fascinating: almost all of the drivers in question entered the sport prior to the 1980s.

Of the 49 American drivers to start a Grand Prix, 43 did so before 1980. The only drivers to enter a Formula 1 race after 1980 were Michael Andretti, Eddie Cheever, Alexander Rossi, Logan Sargeant, Scott Speed, and Danny Sullivan.

Issue No. 1: Two-car teams

To get to the bottom of the American driver issue, I want to start backwards. If America used to produce a plethora of F1 entrants, why did that pipeline dry up?

The biggest reason is the two-car team mandate. Since 1985, F1 rules have required that teams enter no more than two cars during a race.

See, almost all of the American entries prior to the 1980s were often one-offs. It used to be common for big-name teams like Lotus to field a third car at select races in order to put talented locals to the test.

Those locals often had an older or less-equipped car than the full-time competitors, but they would at least still have a chance to race.

The practice of running one-off drivers had begun to fade even before F1 mandated two-car teams, though — and there’s another reason for that.

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Issue No. 2: Cost

Racing is expensive. While that has always been a fact of life, it certainly became all the more true as the 1970s progressed into the 1980s.

In F1’s first few decades, F1 cars were relatively simple. You could buy and tune an engine, weld together some tubes for a chassis, and bend some aluminum to make a body. You likely had a designer instructing you on how to do that — but there wasn’t a ton of science going into the process.

When aerodynamics got involved, though, costs began to rocket. It was expensive to build a good wing, and it was even more expensive to figure out how to make it work via things like wind-tunnel testing.

Soon after aero came the introduction of composite materials and greater electrical software — and the cost to build any one car jumped exponentially. It was no longer as financially viable to field several cars, and so teams were less interested in throwing an unproven talent behind the wheel for a race or two.

Rather, if you were running a team, you would simply want the best talent you could find — and if you were based in Europe or the UK, those were the talent pools into which you were dipping.

That meant no one was popping American drivers into a car when the F1 circus came to America.

Issue No. 3: Superlicenses

In the early 1990s came the next hurdle for American drivers: superlicenses. The superlicense system effectively determines who is qualified to race in Formula 1. While the original goal was to keep dangerously under-talented drivers out, superlicenses have also become something of a political tool in recent years.

In order to earn a superlicense, you must accumulate points by contesting other race series around the world. American race series like IndyCar are given less weight in the superlicense system when compared to something like Formula 2 — so that makes it all the more challenging for a driver outside of Europe to get their foot in the door.

As an example, if you finish in the top three in the Formula 2 championship, you’re awarded 40 points. In IndyCar, you only get 40 points for winning the season; finishing second drops your points earned down to 30, third place to 20, and so on.

This is not just an American issue; the Formula Regional European Championship is given greater weight than any other Formula Regional championship in Asia, Japan, or America.

Issue No. 4: Competing series

While Formula 1 represents the pinnacle of open-wheel racing in Europe, America has had its own open-wheel championships for decades.

In the 1980s and 1990s, American open-wheel racing series exploded in popularity. The competition was fierce, the racing was close, and drivers from all around the world could compete. Effectively, there was no reason to have to head over to Europe — not when the racing in America was so good!

However, that quickly changed. Different factions arose in the American open-wheel realm — those that believed in growing international competition and improving technology, and those that believed in limiting technology for the sake of close racing — racing that should ideally take place on ovals.

The in-fighting effectively destroyed the series that spawned out of that conflict; when IndyCar reunified in 2008, the series had to start rebuilding from the ground up in order to reestablish the legitimacy of American racing.

However, as a result, it damaged an entire generation of open-wheel talent.

Issue No. 5: Different ladders

As motorsport has grown more specialized and drivers have begun to race at younger ages, ladder programs have become massively important — and in many cases, where you start your racing journey can dictate where you end it.

America has two primary ladder systems: one that feeds into IndyCar, and one that feeds into NASCAR. The ladder categories for both American disciplines reflect the skills that would be required to race at the top level of that American discipline.

As you’d expect, then, European ladder programs are generally styled with an end goal of Formula 1 in mind.

Imagine two drivers of equal age and equal karting talent. One begins racing in USF2000 in America, while another begins racing in a Formula Regional series in Europe.

In USF2000, the driver will learn how to race under IndyCar’s rulesets, and on IndyCar tracks — including ovals. The talent spotters attending the USF2000 races are probably from IndyCar teams, since USF2000 competes during select IndyCar weekends. Drivers there specialize in an American-style of open-wheel racing from their earliest days behind the wheel, and they’d likely be shocked by the style of competition in Europe.

Now, imagine your Formula Regional driver in Europe. That driver will learn FIA-sanctioned racing regulations, and will be available to talent spotters from F1 junior programs or other junior-category teams that may have ties to F1. Drivers there specialize in the kind of racing prioritized by Formula 1 — and again, they’d likely be shocked by the style of competition in America.

When young drivers specialize so early, it can be far more challenging to break out of their specific ladder program than it would have been for a driver of the past, who was likely racing everything from open-wheel cars to stock cars just to make a living.

Issue No. 6: Physical distance

More than anything, the matter of physical distance makes it challenging for American drivers to succeed in Formula 1 — in much the same way that it can be challenging for Asian or African drivers to succeed in Formula 1. They just aren’t close enough to the hubs of action, Europe or England, to get on the right folks’ radars.

Even though we live in an era that’s more connected than ever before, it is still extremely challenging to make up for any deficits caused by distance, especially when a series like F1 often looks for drivers that have moved up through its own ranks.

As a result, it can be challenging for any aspiring American racer to make it on F1’s radar. They would likely have to move to Europe, or to commit to extended periods of time away from home. And, as drivers are expected to start racing at younger and younger ages, it can be even more challenging to make that commitment at so young an age.

Issue No. 7: Age and experience

Look back through the history of American F1 drivers; you’ll likely find that the Americans who had the most F1 success had likely already had massive success racing elsewhere.

By the time drivers like Mario Andretti, Dan Gurney, Phil Hill, and more entered F1, they had already made a name for themselves in other disciplines: IndyCar, sports car racing, endurance racing, etc. They had effectively been talent spotted by, say, becoming an international sensation for winning at Le Mans, or for making waves at the Indy 500.

Success elsewhere would put them on the radar of an Enzo Ferrari or a Colin Chapman, and voila: They’d get a one-off shot at the US Grand Prix. If they performed well there, they’d be invited back for more.

Now, there isn’t really time for an aspiring F1 driver to become a legend elsewhere. Drivers have to start specializing at a young age, putting all their efforts into making it big in one particular discipline.

As a result, F1 teams and their junior programs will likely spot talent where it’s most accessible to them: In Europe.

Read next: The next Logan Sargeant? The American drivers in line for an F1 ride