What it’s like for South Florida’s Logan Sargeant, F1’s only American, to race at Miami
Home has been a lot of different places for Logan Sargeant, although it usually has been somewhere in South Florida for the only American racing in Formula One.
Originally, home was Fort Lauderdale, where was born, and then Fort Lauderdale. Home was often in Homestead, where he learned to race and fell in love with racing at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Eventually, home became all sorts of places in Europe, bouncing between England and Switzerland after he moved abroad to pursue his sport at its highest level.
Home is still Florida, though, and the 22-year-old relished the two days he was able to spend back at home, “out on the water,” this week between the 2023 Azerbaijan Grand Prix and 2023 Miami Grand Prix.
“I’m excited for this weekend,” said Sargeant, who drives the No. 2 car for Williams Grand Prix Engineering. “It’s nice to be back home in my well-known climate, which is extremely hot.”
Now four races into debut season in Formula One, Sargeant is getting his first chance at a homecoming this weekend in Miami Gardens at the second Miami Grand Prix. He will be the first American to ever race at the Grand Prix and he called it a “full-circle” moment in the early stages of his rookie year.
A decade ago, Sargeant and his family left the United States for Lugano, Switzerland. Sargeant, then 12, enrolled at TASIS Switzerland — an American school — and started competing in European kart racing.
Dalton Sargeant, his older brother by three years, parlayed it into a three-year career on the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. The younger Sargeant stayed abroad and finally debuted in Formula 4 in 2016, when he was only 15.
This was two years before “Formula 1: Drive to Survive” debuted on Netflix and finally introduced the sport to a wider American audience. Seven years after he debuted in Formula racing and five after “Drive to Survive” gave Formula One (F1) a major jolt in the U.S., Sargeant is ending an eight-year drought for Americans in the increasingly popular sport.
“It’s going to be nice to actually take part in my first ever car race in America — that’ll be pretty cool — and just to see the American fans,” Sargeant said. “I’ll have friends and family here, and the atmosphere I know is always good in America. The American fans always put out. I’m excited to have that home atmosphere for the first time.”
His hometown is excited about the rookie, too.
Sargeant joked he had about 1,000 ticket requests for the weekend — the actual number, he quickly corrected himself, was probably closer to 100 — and his presence will certainly add a different dynamic to the race Sunday.
Last year, the Miami GP was a spectacle and a chance for spectators to get their eyes on major international superstars. This year, there’s an additional rooting interest with Sargeant as the first American to race in F1 since 2015, ready to take part in one of three American races during the 2023 Formula One World Championship.
When Sargeant first moved in 2012, the U.S. had not hosted an F1 grand prix in five years. Now, it will host three for the first time, with the United States Grand Prix set for October in Austin, and the inaugural Las Vegas Grand Prix scheduled for November.
“When I first moved to Europe, I don’t think there was a single U.S. grand prix,” Sargeant said. “I’m definitely glad there’s three now. That’s pretty nice.”
This is the really special one, though. Sargeant was just at Hard Rock Stadium on Christmas to watch his Dolphins play the Packers, and now he will get to race at the same site in his debut at the Miami International Autodrome.
“I’ve watched endless games in this stadium,” Sargeant said.
Max Verstappen celebrates win at Miami GP with Dan Marino as F1 finds new home in Florida
The only way to make it all better would be to score some points for the first time.
Sargeant finished 16th in his last race and has peaked as high as 12th in his first two months in F1.
A top-10 finish would get him points for the first time, but he wouldn’t do anything too crazy to celebrate.
“It might sound lame,” he said, “but probably just go back to my house and get in my bed for another night before I go back to London.”
Schedule for Miami Grand Prix
▪ Friday: Practice, 2 p.m. and 5:30 p.m.
▪ Saturday: Practice, 12:30 p.m.; qualifying, 4 p.m.
▪ Sunday: Race, 3:30 p.m. (ESPN)
What to know before Miami
▪ The race runs for 57 laps, covering 191.584 miles.
▪ Belgium’s Max Verstappen, who drives the No. 33 for Red Bull Racing, won the inaugural Miami Grand Prix last year on the way to his second straight F1 world championship.
▪ Verstappen is atop the standings again, eight points ahead Mexico’s Sergio Perez, who also races for Red Bull in the No. 11.
▪ Red Bull has won all four races this year, with Verstappen and Perez each winning twice.
▪ Spain’s Fernando Alonso, who drives the No. 14 for Aston Martin in Formula One, is third in the standings. England’s Lewis Hamilton, who drives the No. 44 for Mercedes-Benz in Formula One and has won seven world titles, is fourth.
