Williams Formula 1 boss James Vowles has revealed he elected to overlook Mick Schumacher to replace Logan Sargeant to invest in the team’s available driver pool.
Last weekend’s Dutch Grand Prix proved to be Sargeant’s last F1 outing as wrecking Williams’ latest upgrade package in a huge FP3 crash proved to be the last straw.
Vowles was touted to have held talks with Red Bull over a potential loan deal involving Liam Lawson, while Mercedes reserve Mick Schumacher was also a candidate.
However, Williams announced earlier this week that Franco Colapinto has been promoted to a race seat to complete the remaining nine races in 2024 with Alex Albon.
Vowles has disclosed how Lawson’s contractual situation with Red Bull prevented the New Zealander, who made five F1 starts last season, from being a viable option.
“So if we go through what options were available to us, there were sort of three options on the table which all of you sort of figured out,” he told media including Motorsport Week.
“One was Liam Lawson, one was Mick and one was Franco.
“With Liam, the contractual sort of position of Red Bull wouldn’t have worked with me here at Williams, so that didn’t become an option for us in that circumstance.”
Lawson being unavailable looked to have opened the door to Schumacher, who hasn’t been on the grid since Haas dropped him once 2022 ended, to conduct a return.
However, Vowles has decided to not grant the German, who has served as Mercedes’ reserve driver since last season, the reprieve that he has been desiring to obtain.
Vowles has divulged how his view that Schumacher is not a guaranteed ceiling raiser prompted his choice to provide Williams Junior Colapinto the chance to step up.
“Mick has improved a lot from where he was in Haas, there was no doubt about it,” he admitted.
“He’s a competent driver that I know he had his time, but he has done incredible work with Alpine [in the World Endurance Championship], with Mercedes and with McLaren.
“And all advocates, if you speak to them, will tell you where he’s adapted and where he’s changed.
“So now the decision is, do we put Mick in the car, which I think Mick would have done a good job, or do we invest in an individual that’s a part of our academy, that’s done hundreds to thousands of laps in our simulator, that’s driven the car, the only driver to have driven the car this year in FP1, and on the data that we can see from what he’s doing and how he’s performing, he’s making significant steps.
“So it becomes a decision, do we invest in the future, or do we invest in someone else as a result of it? I think both would fall into a category of good, not special.
“I think we have to be straightforward about this, Mick isn’t special, he would just have been good. I think he would have come with a lot more experience than Franco does.”
“But here’s what I believe in, what Williams believes in, and what’s at the core values of Williams: Williams has always invested in new generations of drivers and youth.
“And what I’ve been speaking about all the way through is the investment in the future of Williams.
“And the future of Williams isn’t investing in the past, it’s investing in talent that allows us to move forward as individuals.
“It’s investing in an academy that you’ll see announcements over the next six weeks or so, how we are filling out that academy, and the amount of finance that we’re putting into it.
“And when you’re putting that amount of finance into academy, you’ve got to put your actions where your words are as well at the same time.
“I myself, 25 years ago, was junior. And someone trusted me and believed in me and invested in me, and we had good hope that came out of it.
“Franco’s ahead in the F2 Championship of [Andrea Kimi] Antonelli, he’s ahead of [Oliver] Bearman. He’s in MP [Motorsport], with all due respect to MP, it’s not Prema, it’s not ART.
“And he’s doing a good job of building up into it.
“Now do I think we’ve put someone really in the deep end of the swimming pool? Absolutely, 100%.
“But if you listen to Franco’s own words, you’ll hear that he’s ready for it, that he’s ready for the challenge, and he knows what’s in front of him.
It’s that I want to demonstrate to the world, investing in a driver that can, I hope, become a very successful reserve driver for us, simulator driver for us, and other aspects, depending on how he performs, is investing in the future of Williams.”
