Revealed: The number Logan Sargeant has chosen to race with in Formula 1

Formula 1 rookie Logan Sargeant has revealed he has opted to use the number 2 for when he makes the step up to the top tier next season.

The new Williams driver will become the first American to race on the grid since Alexander Rossi when the new season gets underway, and he will use the race number most recently donned by Stoffel Vandoorne when he raced at McLaren.

Sargeant acknowledged this was not his first choice of race number however, with the number 3 being his preferred option.

Even though Daniel Ricciardo will not be on the grid next year, Formula 1’s rules surrounding driver numbers dictate that any driver leaving the sport keeps hold of their race number for up to two years before it can be ‘freed up’ again for another driver to use.

As a result, Sargeant will run with 2 on his car for his whole career in Formula 1 – but it is not all bad, as the number brings back good memories from his junior days.

“I used to run it in Formula Renault, and I had a pretty good season that year,” Sargeant said upon announcing his Formula 1 race number, with that 2018 campaign yielding three victories and seven podiums in Formula Renault before moving up to Formula 3.

“Number 3 is my number, but that’s taken so I figured why not take a winning number from the past and run with it in F1?”

Sargeant’s seat at Williams was predicated on him qualifying for his FIA Super Licence at the end of the Formula 2 season, and the team helped him as much as possible by offering him multiple chances to run in Formula 1 free practice sessions before the end of the year as well as in young driver testing to help his tally along.

But his fourth-place finish in the standings was plenty to see him over the threshold into Formula 1 next year, and he is relishing the opportunity to make the next step in his career in 2023.

“There is a lot of work to be done,” he said to the Williams website. “A lot of things to iron out, things to improve on – as there always is.

“Physically, for sure. It’s going to be a big challenge over the winter to get physically fit enough to drive one of these cars without any issue, and then it’s just going to be a lot of time in the factory on the simulator.

“A seat to be made, we want to be comfortable in that in that car for next year. I mean, it’s going to be nonstop hard work, but I’m ready for it.”

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