Ralf Schumacher hits out at ‘absurd’ Williams decision after fresh Mick Schumacher F1 blow
Six-time F1 race winner turned pundit Ralf Schumacher.
With “performance” in mind, Ralf Schumacher branded the decision for Williams to give Franco Colapinto the nod as Logan Sargeant’s replacement over Mick Schumacher “absurd”.
Pressure had already been mounting on Logan Sargeant to retain his Williams seat, with three-time F1 race winner Carlos Sainz confirmed as his F1 2025 replacement. And the 2024 Dutch Grand Prix proved to be Sargeant’s last, who has been shown the door mid-season by Williams.
Ralf Schumacher slams ‘absurd’ Williams Mick Schumacher snub
Sargeant crashed the upgraded Williams FW46 heavily during the final Dutch GP practice session, causing him to miss qualifying, with speculation soon gathering pace that Williams could decide to make a change, Red Bull reserve Liam Lawson and Mercedes reserve Mick Schumacher emerging as options.
But while Williams did decide to replace Sargeant, the driver they chose to see out the F1 2024 campaign in his place was their junior Franco Colapinto, who makes the step up having been contesting his rookie Formula 2 campaign, which yielded a victory and two runner-up results.
However, when it comes to “performance”, Ralf believes it is “absurd” for Williams to have gone with Colapinto over Mick.
“You can perhaps respect this decision because Colapinto is a driver from Williams’ junior programme. But from a performance point of view, I think it’s absurd and doesn’t make sense,” Ralf is quoted by Sky Deutschland as having told the German Press Agency.
“I think the risk for the racing team and the driver is much, much higher than if they had brought in someone with experience like Mick.”
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It was during the 2021 and 2022 campaigns that Mick raced with Haas, but since being dropped by the team in favour of Nico Hulkenberg, he has been unable to find a way back onto the F1 grid, having since served as Mercedes reserve and linking-up with Alpine’s endurance racing programme.
And Ralf believes that his nephew is still paying the price for taking “too long” to shine against then Haas team-mate Kevin Magnussen.
“You have to be fair enough to admit that it simply took Mick too long in his second season at Haas to find his feet and get to grips with his team-mate,” said Ralf.
“Formula 1 is not forgiving.”
Colapinto made his Formula 1 debut with Williams in FP1 at the British Grand Prix, and in explaining the “incredibly tough” call to replace Sargeant mid-season, Williams team boss James Vowles said the team need to put themselves in the best position to pick up points across the last nine rounds as he looks forward to seeing what Colapinto can produce.
Williams has scored only four points so far in F1 2024, all of those registered by Alex Albon.
“To replace a driver mid-season is not a decision we have taken lightly, but we believe this gives Williams the best chance to compete for points over the remainder of the season,” said Vowles.
“We have just brought a large upgrade to the car and need to maximise every points-scoring opportunity in a remarkably tight midfield battle.
“We also believe in investing in our young drivers in the Williams Racing Driver Academy, and Franco is getting a fantastic opportunity to demonstrate what he is capable of across the final nine rounds of the season.
“This is undoubtedly incredibly tough on Logan, who has given his all throughout his time with Williams, and we want to thank him for all his hard work and positive attitude.
“Logan remains a talented driver and we will support him to continue his racing career for the future. I know that Franco has great speed and huge potential, and we look forward to seeing what he can do in Formula 1.”
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