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Logan Sargeant’s future in F1 is hanging by a thread after another poor qualifying performance ahead of the Saudi Arabia Grand Prix, and the debut performance of teenager Ollie Bearman has

certainly not helped the American’s cause. Sargeant was knocked out in Q1 in Jeddah on Friday, finishing half a second off the pace.

The 23-year-old’s Williams will start in 19th on Saturday after being handily outperformed by teammate Alex Albon – who starts the race in 12th – in qualifying. Bearman, meanwhile, stepped

into the Ferrari hot seat at the last minute due to Carlos Sainz’s withdrawal, with the Spaniard diagnosed with appendicitis and requiring surgery.

Bearman cruised through Q1 and narrowly missed out on a spot in the top 10, losing out to Lance Stroll by less than a tenth of a second on Friday. But the 18-year-old Brit’s performance

certainly caught the eye at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit, emerging as a fresh contender to replace Sargeant if Williams opts to make a change.

Former Williams reserve driver Jack Aitken told the BBC that Bearman has a growing reputation in the paddock, and a strong weekend in Saudi Arabia could put him in contention for a race seat

this season.

“Bearman has had a fair bit of testing with Haas and Ferrari,” Aitkin said. “He’s impressed as well, Haas were very complimentary. There is a lot of expectation around him, so this could be

a really great audition for him. No-one is expecting him to beat Charles Leclerc but if he can get close to him, it is all upside.”

Sargeant finished in 20th place in the drivers’ standings in 2023, accruing just a single point, and his 2024 campaign started in horrid fashion in Bahrain last week. He finished last on the

grid in the season opener after an early mistake, failing to make any headway after getting back on track.

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Bearman is not the only contender to replace Sargeant if Williams make a change, with Sky Sports pundit Karun Chandhok urging the team to consider a move for Red Bull reserve driver Liam

Lawson. "If I was Williams, I would definitely be looking at Liam Lawson. You've got to have the conversation, haven't you?” Chandhok said after qualifying in Bahrain.

“Because, you know, Albon's out-qualified Sargeant on every occasion, he has scored all the points so far for Williams. If you are Williams, you should be shopping around and Liam Lawson has

put himself on the market in a very good way."

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