The Williams Formula 1 team has dropped driver Logan Sargeant, with his place to be taken by rookie Franco Colapinto for the remainder of the 2024 season.

"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 Williams team principal James 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.

Sargeant graduated to F1 with Williams in 2023, but the team had grown increasingly frustrated with his inability to match the performance of teammate Alex Albon, and it had been announced in July that the American would leave Williams at the end of the year, to be replaced by Carlos Sainz.

A high-speed accident during practice for last weekend's Dutch Grand Prix, which resulted in a chassis update being destroyed, appears to have been the last straw for Williams, who have elected to terminate Sargeant's contract ahead of schedule.

Williams are currently ninth in the 2024 F1 Constructors' Championship with four points, all scored by Albon.

Like Sargeant before him, Colapinto is a member of Williams' driver academy, and the Argentinian has spent 2024 racing in the feeder Formula 2 series, currently lying sixth in the championship standings with one win.

Set to debut at this weekend's Italian Grand Prix, the Argentinian will become his nation's first F1 race driver since Gaston Mazzacane in 2001.

With Sainz and Albon under contract for 2025, there will be no room for Colapinto at Williams next year, and with few other seats available, the Argentinian's F1 future beyond 2024 looks unclear

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