Red Bull boss Christian Horner doubts whether American driver Logan Sargeant, who was signed by Williams Racing for 2023, is the key to boosting Formula 1’s popularity in the United States.
Horner told The Post that F1 needed a driver with the ability to win races — and world championships — to capture the attention of audiences Stateside.
“Imagine if there was an American Max Verstappen,” Horner said of the reigning world champion.
“What we need is a young, talented, competitive American driver.”
The team principal, 49, said the American market was “hugely important” to his U.K.-based team, which launched its 2023 season in New York last week, and announced a slate of US sponsors, including Rokt.
Although Florida-born Sargeant will drive for Williams Racing in 2023 — making him the first American to line up on an F1 grid since 2015 — Horner doesn’t believe his hiring will have the impact some are expecting.
“It’s great to have him there and he’s a talented young guy [but] he’s going to be limited in what he can do,” Horner said, with regard to Williams’ last place finish in the 2022 constructors championship.
“The problem is, if you’re finishing 14th or 15th it doesn’t really turn people on. I think if he was fighting at the front in a competitive car, then you’d see [something like] what happened with Fernando [Alonso] in Spain, or Checo [Perez] and the reaction in Mexico,” Horner went on, referencing drivers whose success drastically boosted the popularity of F1 in their home countries.
“So that’s what we need: an American driver fighting for victories and World Championships.”
Horner believes it will happen “in time,” however the key “is getting enough people interested in the sport to want to start participating in it” at a junior level.
Sargeant, 22, who arrives in F1 after finishing fourth in the Formula 2 championship, said it was an “honor and privilege” to end America’s near decade-long hiatus from the grid.
“[It’s} a great opportunity to represent my country to the best of my ability,” he told reporters at the 2023 Williams season launch Monday.
“Having three home grands prix is not something many, if anyone, has ever been able to say so I’m looking forward to being able to enjoy those moments.”
In addition to the United States Grand Prix in Austin, and the Miami Grand Prix, which was added to the calendar last year, the pinnacle of world motorsport will also race in Las Vegas from 2023.
“I think the timing is great,” Sargeant said of the night race in Sin City.
“You can tell that Formula 1 in America is at a peak. With the trajectory it’s on, I don’t really see it stopping, to be honest.”
The 2023 Formula 1 season kicks off with the Bahrain Grand Prix on March 5.
