Long-time friend and rival American Logan Sargeant says Oscar Piastri can reach Formula One’s Everest on one condition

They have known each other since they were teenagers duking it out in go-karts to now where both Logan Sargeant and Australia’s Oscar Piastri find themselves on the F1 grid. And the American thinks his friend can reach the top, with one proviso, writes CALLUM DICK.

Williams star Logan Sargeant says Aussie ace Oscar Piastri has all the tools to become a Formula 1 World Champion.

Sargeant and Piastri have raced with and against each other for almost a decade, from teenagers in go-karts to teammates in F3, rivals in F2 and now among an elite field of 20 drivers in the highest class of open-wheel racing in the world.

“I’ve known Oscar since we were 14 or so. We go back a long way,” Sargeant told this masthead.

“We’ve raced together on the way up and we’re still quite close – we’ll have a few games of paddle here and there, he’s one of my closer friends on the grid.”

Piastri (R) and Sargeant during their days in Formula 3. Picture: Rudy Carezzevoli/Getty Images

But motorsport can be a cut throat industry in which your teammate is often also your fiercest rival and so it came to be for the pair only a few years ago.

In 2020 they were teammates at Prema Racing in the Formula 3 Championship and both drivers were in title contention heading into the final round at Mugello, with Piastri clinching the championship by just four points.

Last year, Sargeant and Piastri made their Formula 1 debuts, with Williams and McLaren respectively.

Piloting a superior car that became a genuine podium contender by seasons’ end, Piastri enjoyed one of the best rookie campaigns in recent memory while Sargeant battled in the up-and-down Williams.

Few in Formula 1 have as good an understanding of Piastri’s potential as Sargeant, given their long history. And the American believes, with the right car underneath him, Piastri can be a world champion.

“I’m 100 per cent sure he’s capable, but in the end of the day F1 is all about what car you get into,” Sargeant said.

“You can’t really say until you see where they end up from a career point of view, in terms of what team (they are on). But in terms of capability, he’s capable of a lot.

“He’s been great. I think he had a really good first year. It’s no surprise, he’s always been a great driver. I’m sure he’s looking to continue what he built on last year and I have no doubt he will.”

McLaren's Oscar Piastri on the podium in Qatar. Picture: Karim Jaafar / AFP

Ahead of Sargeant’s home Grand Prix debut in Miami last year, Piastri shared an old photo of the pair from their go-karting days to Instagram and wished him well.

With the shoe now on the other foot ahead of Piastri’s return to Albert Park, where he finished a respectable eighth last year, Sargeant said the pressure of expectation would be overshadowed by the home crowd support.

“At the end of the day in F1 the pressure is always there. You want to perform well in every race, so in that sense it’s not a crazy amount different,” he said.

“What I think is different is you feel the support and the atmosphere and if anything that just gives you more motivation and more comfort to go and drive your best.

“It’s something I enjoy very much and I’m sure he does as well.”

Sargeant made a quick pit stop into Brisbane on Tuesday to visit the head office for Williams’ major sponsor, Komatsu, before jetting out to Melbourne in preparation for the Australian Grand Prix.

While Piastri sent tongues wagging as an F1 star of the future, the assessment of Sargeant’s rookie season was not as glowing.

The American was the only driver on the grid unable to out-qualify his teammate at a single Grand Prix in 2023, with Alex Albon winning the head-to-head 22-0.

Contracted to the end of this season, Sargeant’s F1 future is now squarely in his own hands.

Williams team principal James Vowles last week eased the pressure on his young driver by declaring his seat would be safe to the end of the year, though he expects to see continual improvement out of Sargeant in his sophomore season.

2024 is a big year for American Logan Sargeant. Picture: Rudy Carezzevoli/Getty Images

Asked if that vote of confidence from Vowles had helped, Sargeant said:

“Yeah for sure … I feel like I’m not far (off) from what’s expected, from what should be coming. We just need to put a clean weekend together and it will be there.

“I feel much more comfortable … I think I have all the tools I need to put together good weekends now and those will start to come.”

At last year’s Australian Grand Prix Sargeant was part of the chaotic late restart that brought about a record third red flag, when he was boxed in and ran up the back of Nyck De Vries and into the gravel trap.

He’s hoping for a much cleaner race this time out.

“Last year was definitely chaotic in the race but I think from a team point of view it’s a track that should suit us pretty decently, so hopefully we can have a clean weekend, optimise what we have and hopefully that leaves us in a good spot.”

Originally published as Long-time friend and rival American Logan Sargeant says Oscar Piastri can reach Formula One’s Everest on one condition